While still working at Rosatom, during a meeting with our enterprise's CEO following a strategic session of the state corporation's top managers, I heard a thought that was new to me: "This year, we saved the lives of so-and-so many of our now-former employees." Naturally, such a statement raises unspoken questions. How did this miraculously happen? It is quite simple. They were fired for systematic violations of safety requirements. Many years later, I still remember this phrase, and now, working at Sibagro and heading the HSE department, I understand the true value of this thought.
The Russian language has many proverbs suitable for various life situations. This is a legacy from our ancestors — concentrated wisdom in short phrases.
A smart person learns from the mistakes of others, a fool learns from their own.
Measure twice, cut once.
It was just a match in the hands, but the whole hut burned down.
Extinguish the spark before the fire, avert the disaster before the strike.
Look before you leap.
God protects the careful.
Beware of troubles before they appear.
Trust in God, but rely on yourself.
Even a little caution brings great salvation.
And many, many more.
In theory, each of these phrases suggests that you should understand what you are doing in your work activities, plan ahead, predict how events might unfold, play it safe, double-check everything, and only then proceed with the work unhurriedly. But, as they say, in practice, things happen differently. It is human nature to evolve. People are constantly inventing new approaches and new tools. However, evolution is a ruthless manifestation of natural selection. Driven by their own internal impulses and motives, employees constantly try to simplify safety rules and requirements to get things done faster. It is from these thoughts that great disasters begin.
Unfortunately, any tragic event is rarely a single, isolated violation of safety requirements. As a rule, it is a combination of deviations, negligence, or lack of time. Any incident is a chain of events, whether it is an accident, a crash, an explosion, environmental pollution, or a fire.
For example, a car gets into an accident. The driver ignored a minor malfunction. The mechanic didn't have time for it in the morning; he was feeling unwell because he wasn't getting enough sleep working for two. The fleet supervisor thought everyone knew and understood the consequences, so he hadn't delved into these issues for a long time (assuming everything was obvious and clear to everyone). He was busy preparing for the arrival of an important executive from the management company. The head of the motor transport department listens to his subordinates' reports with half an ear because he is preoccupied with the budget and domestic problems with his children. Summer is coming, and he needs to figure out how to arrange their trips to summer camps.
If a participant in this process had performed their function properly at even one stage, the accident could have been avoided.
Some violate rules unknowingly, either out of ignorance of the requirements or a lack of understanding of their essence. Others violate them because they fundamentally do not want to follow them. The consequences are most often fatal. It's like being on the road: one fool is speeding at supersonic velocity, while another is driving according to the rules. For the first driver, it is their choice and decision, but for the second, it is a tragic coincidence.
That is exactly why I am sincerely convinced that for employees who cannot or will not integrate into the flow of safe behavior and embrace the safety culture, the employer can have only one offer: dismissal. It is necessary to save the employee's life by removing them from interaction with occupational risk factors. And it should be noted that by firing such employees, we are taking care not only of them but also of their colleagues, who might otherwise end up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Wishing everyone safe work.