Silence is not golden: in our Company, dialogue helps improve safety.
It would seem that in production, everything should be clear and according to regulations. Follow the work algorithm and HSE requirements, and you are insured against trouble. However, as life shows, we underestimate verbal communication. Conversations and dialogues can stop a person from taking an unsafe action and help them become more conscious of safety issues. A real-life story from EVRAZ's practice confirms this.
This is a story about how a culture of trust can save lives and health. A caring manager, proactive risk managers, engaged production workers, and EvrazTechnika employees helped avoid injuries and complete the equipment repair on time.
During the overhaul of a lime kiln in the calcination shop, contractor employees replaced one of the mechanisms and installed it at a height of about two meters. This was as required. However, as a result, an EvrazTechnika specialist was unable to configure the equipment. The work turned out to be unsafe. Previously, the mechanism was at ground level, so there were no maintenance issues. But according to the design documents, it now had to be installed at a height. During the overhaul, the contractor's employees performed the correct installation according to the shop's power service drawings. But what turned out to be good for the production team caused problems for other specialists. After the installation was completed, the site employees arrived and reported that they could no longer safely configure the mechanism. There was no ladder, no work platform, and no way to work at height safely. This could result in falls and injuries. They filed a refusal to perform unsafe work and decided to act immediately: the shaft kiln is a critical unit and cannot stand idle. Following an inspection, it was determined that safe configuration work was impossible. A memo was prepared for the shop manager describing the situation, while simultaneously discussing assistance in solving the problem. The production team responded quickly by installing a stationary platform with a ladder and creating an anchor point for attaching a safety harness. As a result, EvrazTechnika specialists completed all the configuration work, and the production team started the lime kiln on schedule.
The right to refuse a potentially dangerous task was introduced for EVRAZ employees with the launch of the "Risk Management" project.
If work threatens life or health, it must be refused immediately and reported to management. Our safety is in our hands.
Refusing unsafe work allows for focusing on problem areas in the production process and provides an opportunity to involve every employee in safety matters.
How is the right to stop unsafe work implemented in your companies? Do your production personnel have such a rule?