Contractor Risk Management: From Blind Spots to a Barrier System

From Blind Spots to a Barrier System: The Evolution of Contractor Management

Contractors are a significant resource for large industrial enterprises. At EVRAZ, for example, contractors perform about 30% of all work, which amounts to around 15,000 people. However, historical differences in approaches to contractor management across various plants and mines create challenges for centralized control and scaling best practices. In his presentation, Alexander Bashmakov, Head of Contractor Relations at EVRAZ, explains why transitioning to a unified management format is not just a matter of convenience, but a critical necessity for reducing injury rates.

An analysis of safety performance revealed alarming trends: a significant gap in the number of identified risks between in-house staff and contractors. Contracting organizations are often unmotivated to record micro-injuries, fearing local penalties. This creates "blind spots" in the safety system. Problems that are invisible in the early stages naturally escalate into severe incidents. Using accident analysis as an example, the speaker shows that the causes often repeat: a lack of competencies and low management involvement. The solution is an end-to-end management system where risk management begins at the planning stage, long before the contractor enters the site.

Focus on Maintenance Contractors: Managing High-Risk Zones

It is impossible to implement a comprehensive safety culture improvement system for all contractors simultaneously. Therefore, the company focused its efforts on the most risky segment: maintenance contractors. Unlike construction projects, which are usually localized and relatively easy to control, maintenance work is often carried out in the operating zone of active equipment (for example, near moving metal ladles) or at heights where control is difficult. This specific group of workers is in the maximum risk zone, and the cost of an error here is the highest.

Digital Control Tools: From Static Reports to Online Monitoring

The key element of the new system is digital tools that provide managers with up-to-date information for decision-making. The speaker detailed several such solutions:

• HSE Monitor (Power BI Dashboard): An interactive panel replacing monthly static reports. It allows real-time viewing of accident and risk registers, analyzing causes, and tracking the status of action plans. This ensures transparency and prompt response.
• Electronic Permit-to-Work Monitor: Displays the number of working contractors, their testing status, and the time spent on admission. A manager can drill down into the details of each permit, check the team composition, and, if necessary, stop the work.
• Heat Map (Manager's Assistant): Aggregates data from various systems (training, permits-to-work, etc.). When indicators deviate from target values, the map "heats up," highlighting risk zones in red. For example, if there are more than four permits per issuing person, the system signals an overload, requiring managerial intervention.

The effectiveness of these tools directly depends on the quality and timeliness of data entry by all process participants, including HSE specialists, HR, procurement, and local managers. In the future, there are plans to implement AI-based predictive analytics to forecast violations before they occur.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to identify and eliminate "blind spots" in contractor micro-injury accounting?
• Why do maintenance contractors require a special approach to risk management compared to construction ones?
• How do interactive dashboards (HSE monitors) change the management decision-making process?
• How does the risk "heat map" work and what factors influence its "heating"?
• How to involve all company departments (from lawyers to procurement) in the contractor safety management system?