In pursuit of the goal set by the Siberian Coal Energy Company (hereinafter referred to as SUEK) — the systematic elimination of working conditions that could lead to group, fatal, and severe injuries — enterprises are actively working to improve the efficiency of their occupational health and safety and production control departments (hereinafter referred to as HSE and PC departments).
Sharing experiences and performance outcomes in reducing the risks of adverse events is a crucial resource for enhancing the informative value and effectiveness of HSE and PC departments. In this regard, SUEK management is organizing a cross-audit of occupational and production safety among the enterprises of its regional production associations. Internal auditors are scheduled to visit the enterprises according to a specially developed timetable.
The purpose of the audit is to align the perspectives of managers, HSE and PC specialists, and experts regarding the functioning of safety management systems and ways to improve them at the inspected production facilities. This alignment helps identify hidden issues, share problem-solving experiences, and develop strategies to enhance the efficiency of the production safety management system (hereinafter referred to as PSMS). The effectiveness criterion for the PSMS was defined as its ability to identify and eliminate not only safety violations but also hazardous production situations, which essentially serve as precursors to adverse events.
The objects of the audit were the open-pit mines of SUEK's regional production associations (hereinafter referred to as RPA); the subject of the audit was the organization of work regarding violations and hazardous production situations, as well as the regulatory documentation governing safe work practices at specific workplaces and the procedure for issuing work permits.
The main audit tools used were the methodological framework developed at SUEK, along with the practical expertise of the auditors. The auditing team consisted of two deputy general directors for HSE and PC; two HSE and PC specialists; a traffic safety, HSE, and PC engineer; and a researcher from NIIOGR (Chelyabinsk).
Initially, some audit participants perceived the task as merely finding the flaws of another enterprise. Over time, however, the auditors came to understand that the audit is designed to identify and analyze the shortcomings of the production safety management system at their own enterprise by analyzing the operations of another. A significant aspect of this process was the comfortable psychological environment for the participants, fostered by the absence of the typical time constraints experienced at their home enterprises and a relaxed atmosphere for exchanging opinions during the operational analysis. All of this enabled the participants to realize that auditing another facility is an effective diagnostic tool for their own operational systems.
An important component of the audit was the prompt identification and analysis of non-obvious hazardous production situations (HPS) and the search for solutions, based on each auditor's experience, to mitigate the risk of potential adverse events.
Overall, after discussing various aspects of the audit, the participants concluded that the inspected open-pit mines possess significant positive experience with systemic solutions that elevate production safety levels, which can be applied to other company enterprises engaged in open-pit coal mining. This experience includes:
The auditors' visits to the open-pit mines revealed that almost all the identified and reviewed issues related to the insufficient efficiency of the production safety management system are similar in nature. Therefore, it is highly advisable to collaboratively develop solutions to improve PSMS efficiency. Such collaboration can aid in understanding the patterns and mechanisms behind the emergence, development, and realization of production situations characterized by a high risk of adverse events, thereby significantly multiplying the effectiveness of risk reduction strategies.
Concluding the audit, the participants agreed that it would be beneficial to hold regular joint audio and video conferences, as well as to facilitate information exchange among the HSE and PC departments of the company's enterprises regarding HPS registers typical of open-pit coal mining and the systemic measures implemented to eliminate them. Furthermore, they recommended making cross-audits mandatory and regular for all SUEK enterprises.