Expert Blog
Defensive Driving: A Reliable Barrier to Reducing Traffic Accidents
The article reveals the essence of defensive driving — a set of actions aimed at preventing dangerous situations and reducing road accident rates. The material considers practical safety elements, including forecasting the road situation, visual scanning, maintaining distance, and taking weather conditions into account. The description of these principles explains how driver attentiveness reduces traffic accident risks and helps companies develop a corporate safety culture.
Focus on What Matters: Safety Months
The article describes the practice of holding thematic safety months at OTEKO, introduced in 2023. The material outlines a concentrated management cycle from goal setting and conducting walkthroughs to analytics in an automated safety management system (ASUB). The publication shows how this practice enables systematic risk management, develops managerial leadership, and fosters a culture of mutual responsibility.
First Aid Kit: Statutory Minimum or Maximum for Saving Lives?
A standard first-aid kit under Ministry of Health Order No. 262n copes with minor injuries and meets legal requirements, but may be ineffective in critical situations. The article examines a two-level approach to safety using OTEKO as an example, where the standard regulatory set is supplemented with specialized medical supplies and practical employee training. It shows how the combination of quality equipment and practical skills enables colleagues to provide emergency assistance on-site before doctors arrive.
Sustainable Urban Construction
The article highlights the concept of ecological urban design as a rational response to rapid urbanization. The material examines the importance of eco-standards, accessible infrastructure, and urban recreation areas for preserving residents' health and protecting the environment. The practical implementation of such solutions is illustrated by examples of building redevelopment in Berlin and housing construction from recycled materials in Copenhagen.
Rapid Hazard Identification Board: Why JSC Kola MMC Rewards Proactivity, Not Just Zero Errors
The article tells about the implementation of the "Quick Hazard Identification" (BIO) system at JSC Kola MMC, which transitioned from traditional punishment for errors to encouraging employees' active participation in occupational health and safety. The material shows how motivation for reporting risks and suggestions for improvement made it possible to promptly eliminate identified hazards and change the role of safety specialists. The company's experience demonstrates how encouraging initiative turns compliance with rules into a personal interest of workers and helps prevent accidents.
Safety Barometer
The article is dedicated to the experience of Bystrinsky GOK in implementing a monthly occupational health and safety rating of departments, which allows for an objective evaluation of their preventive work. The material details the calculation methodology and specific evaluation criteria combining proactive and reactive indicators in a 70 to 30 ratio. The presented approaches will help adapt a balanced evaluation system and motivation mechanisms to the practices of one's own enterprise.
"Safety Contact": A Targeted Strike on Risks
The article discusses the operational “Safety Contact” — a concise tool for the rapid analysis of specific production incidents and risks. The material details the format structure, which includes analyzing the causes of the incident and formulating practical recommendations for employees. Such a tool helps to promptly inform the team, prevent repeated errors, and increase overall safety.
Saving Lives Through Dismissal
In the article, the head of technosphere safety analyzes the causes of industrial accidents and workplace injuries arising from systematic rule violations and a chain of negligent actions. The author explains why dismissing employees who are unwilling to follow a safety culture becomes a way to save their lives by freeing them from risk factors and to protect surrounding colleagues.
Behavioral Safety Audit (BSA)
The article is devoted to behavioral safety audit (BSA) — a method based on observing workers' actions, assessing working conditions, and subsequently discussing the results. The material examines in detail the audit objectives, the procedure for conducting it, the regulations for compiling reports without punishing employees, and the recommended frequency of inspections. The publication explains how processing audit data helps identify "areas of concern", prevent injuries, and enhance the culture of occupational health and safety.
How to Scale an HSE System Across Different Countries: A Practical Story About Culture, Standards, and People
International scaling of an occupational health and safety management system comes down not just to transferring corporate regulations, but to taking into account the hidden nuances of local legislation and workers' cultural habits. Using the examples of Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, the CIS, and Europe, the article examines the specifics of rule perception, as well as the roles of management and state inspections across different macro-regions. The material shows how to adapt unified safety standards to regional specifics and build an active dialogue with employees for the successful implementation of corporate processes.
How to Capture and Hold Attention?
Konstantin Ermolaev, Head of the Safety Culture Promotion Department at Nornickel, continues a series of video notes dedicated to effective communication in occupational health and safety. As part of this series, the author shares practical observations on building communication with colleagues and the audience. This issue is dedicated to how to attract and retain the audience's attention.
The Universal Language: Safety Signs
Safety signs are a key element of visualization in the occupational health and safety management system, working to prevent workplace injuries. Thanks to the standardization of color and shape, pictograms instantly convey unambiguous information in conditions of noise and distracted attention, easily overcoming language barriers. The article reveals the main functions of safety signs, the features of their perception by the human brain, and the history of the establishment of global ISO standards.