Line Walk – a tool for finding violations and solving problems
Every HSE specialist knows that to prevent accidents, it is necessary to regularly conduct preventive work to identify deviations that could lead to negative consequences. These deviations can be unsafe acts and conditions, as well as the root causes of an accident. One of the universal tools widely used by many enterprises is the so-called "Line Walk" (LW). The main tasks of the tool are to prevent accidents, prevent occupational injuries, and identify non-conformities and deviations from standards. The core meaning of the method lies in a thorough inspection of workplaces, shop floors, and adjacent areas, as well as assessing equipment operation and the way personnel perform their work. The focus is on both external conditions and worker actions, which allows for the identification and elimination of potential threats.
To ensure that the LW does not turn into a tool for finding someone to blame or become a punitive element in the safety structure, a number of proactive tools can be embedded into it. These will "upgrade" the LW, making it a tool for finding solutions to problems and establishing communication between workers and managers, as well as helping to involve workers in safety issues by teaching them to see risks. One such tool can be "Risk Hunting". By integrating these two tools, we can shift the focus from identifying violations to finding solutions for their occurrence. This becomes possible because "Risk Hunting", unlike LW, is a process of identifying specifically risks on the company's territory by working groups, with the aim of developing measures that eliminate identified deviations and prevent their recurrence. When identifying risks, we think about how a person might get hurt and how to avoid it, whereas when we talk about a violation, we only ask the question – "Who did this?". Finding the culprit is easy, but it won't give us a solution to the problem.
Combatting "Blurred Vision"
"Risk Hunting" solves another important task. We can identify not only the problems that are "on the surface" but also find and record risks that are hidden at first glance. But how do these hidden risks arise and how can they be found?
A risk becomes invisible only when we are near it for a long enough time and the "blurred vision" effect appears. Simply put, if a person works with a certain hazard for a long time and nothing has happened, it becomes the norm. The worker stops clearly perceiving the dangerous factor, even if they understand it exists. "Cross-Hunting" helps us fight hidden risks. This is when workers from one shop go to another shop according to a certain schedule to conduct a "Hunt". This allows us not only to get rid of "blurred vision" but also to involve the team as much as possible in the process of searching for risks on "foreign territory". In doing so, we remove the persistent, false belief from the personnel's minds – "This isn't mine, I won't deal with it," and transform it into – "Every risk is important; a worker could get hurt if I don't highlight the problem."
Employee Training and Engagement
For the "Risk Hunting" tool to work effectively, training and constant support for personnel from trainers and professional risk management specialists are necessary. At Metalloinvest, such consultations are held regularly for all levels of managers, and shop-floor personnel take an introductory course on the risk-oriented approach, which significantly increases the effectiveness of the method. We involve employees in the safety process through simple beliefs that we instill in their minds:
For every employee, risk assessment and identification should become a habitual and natural process integrated into daily work. Thus, the "Risk Hunting" method helps make life safer not only in production but also in the daily activities of employees.
Work Results and Company Priorities
The use of a tool like "Risk Hunting" helps not only to identify and eliminate obvious and hidden risks but also to search for the root causes of their appearance, which reduces the likelihood of their recurrence. In the period from 2022 to October 2024, thanks to "Risk Hunting" at Metalloinvest enterprises, more than 32,000 risks were recorded, of which more than 240 were fatal (190 of which were minimized or eliminated, and for the rest, compensating measures were developed and implemented, which remain under control until their elimination). More than 95,000 measures aimed at eliminating the root causes of these risks were developed, which had a positive impact on reducing injuries in the company.
Protecting the life and health of employees is a priority for Metalloinvest. To achieve this, all available organizational, administrative, and technical resources are used to form a culture of safe behavior both at the workplace and beyond.