Risk Navigator: How an IT Tool Saves Lives and Budget

Industrial enterprises often face a paradox: thousands of violations are closed in electronic logs every quarter, yet injury rates decline slowly and the exact same non-conformities keep recurring. The root cause lies in treating symptoms without root cause analysis and the alienation of shop-floor workers from IT systems. Oksana Angold, Lead Risk Trainer at PJSC MMK, examines how an iron and steel works with a group headcount of 56,800 employees transitioned from reactive defect logging to proactive hazard management through its proprietary IT tool, Risk Navigator. Since the introduction of the risk-based approach at the enterprise, more than 40,000 risks have been identified, around 90% of which have already been brought under control.

Why Shift Violation Logs Do Not Prevent Recurrences

Before the launch of the new product, the plant used a shift handover module. A snapshot of the first quarter of 2026 clearly demonstrated the difference between the two approaches: 7,451 violations were logged in the shift journal (with 7,277 rectified), whereas 523 risks were identified and 1,139 control measures were developed in Risk Navigator over the same period. An audit of the legacy system revealed three systemic flaws:

• Addressing consequences instead of root causes: 62% of violations (4,600 cases) were closed purely on paper. For instance, an oil spill on a roller frame was recorded and wiped up five times in five weeks without fixing the leak itself. In total, over 200 such recurring non-conformities were identified in a single quarter, which demotivated personnel.
• Zero worker engagement: only engineering and technical staff had access to the system, so shop-floor workers reported observations to their supervisors verbally without transparent feedback.
• Equal weighting of all observations: due to the lack of a severity scale, major equipment failures had the exact same priority as minor flaws, remaining unresolved at the section level.

Architecture of Risk Navigator and Safeguards Against Formalism

The new mobile and web application was designed specifically to meet the needs of shop-floor workers and employees of the key contractor—United Service Company, which handles risk mitigation. The tool is built around four practical mechanisms:

• Precise location mapping and visualization: working alongside shop personnel, facility territories were divided into sections and sectors by grid lines and bays. Using a smartphone, a worker attaches detailed close-up photos of the hazard and overview shots of the area, describing the causes and potential consequences.
• Automated risk assessment matrix: the system automatically calculates risk criticality on a color-coded scale from green to red. The algorithm cross-references consequence severity and likelihood based on the plant's incident statistics over the past three years linked to the specific hazardous event.
• Interim controls and a two-month recurrence barrier: while a permanent engineering solution undergoes design and budgeting (such as installing a permanent staircase or replacing guardrails for ladle access), temporary engineering controls are put in place—portable steps, guardrail extensions, and audits of adjacent zones. Two months after a critical risk is closed, a risk trainer and the section supervisor inspect the site to verify there has been no recurrence. If the issue returns, the ticket is sent back for revision to replace administrative controls with engineering ones.
• Digital stop-work authority: submitting a refusal to perform an unsafe task is built into a dedicated tab in the app and protected by corporate policy against any retaliation. Over 20 formal work stoppages have helped resolve even long-standing seasonal issues. For example, a trained worker's refusal to manually chip away frozen winter coal in a discharge chute led to the fabrication of protective stands, the procurement of specialized tools, and the reallocation of tasks with the contractor.

Tamper-Proof Motivation and End-to-End Budgeting

Each employee's activity is tracked on an engagement dashboard with three-color indicators showing completed training, self-reported risks, and work stoppages. Regular hazard identification earns points redeemable for merchandise on the corporate portal, while reporting critical risks brings cash bonuses: 3,000 rubles for the top contributor in a crew and 13,000 rubles in a shop. Punitive measures are ruled out: if a worker fails to clean up oily rags, a coaching conversation is held, and if there is no disposal bin in the area, an infrastructure risk is logged.

The introduction of bonuses triggered attempts to game the system: some employees deliberately shifted metal floor plates, photographed the gap as a minor injury hazard, and pushed the plates back into place. To prevent manipulation, a risk rejection feature with moderator comments was added to the app. At the same time, for approved submissions, the author can track the entire workflow right up to the final photo confirming rectification.

To keep critical issues from stalling on the shop floor, a five-tier meeting cascade was implemented: from daily huddles at the section level and weekly shop meetings to the technical council, the risk steering committee, and quarterly reviews with the CEO. Thanks to this chain, widespread worker reports regarding roof conditions were compiled into an analytical map of critical zones and received targeted funding signed off by the CEO, while the total number of occupational accidents over the first seven months of 2026 decreased by 7%.

What You Will Learn from This Presentation

• Why 62% of problems recur even when 97% of violations in shift logs are formally closed, and how to break this cycle.
• How automated risk criticality calculation works based on three-year incident statistics and a hazardous event classifier.
• How to organize a two-month recurrence verification barrier for critical risks and keep the work area safe while engineering solutions are being designed.
• How to curb the artificial staging of risks for bonuses and points without losing transparent feedback.
• How to link frontline worker and service contractor submissions to budget allocation through a five-tier meeting cascade.