Risk Management Methods Vary: Identifying and Eliminating Hazardous Production Situations

From Identification to Elimination: How Working with HPS Changes Safety Culture

Risk management in production requires more than just recording violations; it demands a systematic approach to their prevention. In the coal industry, where the cost of a mistake is particularly high, traditional control methods often need to be reinforced with practical tools. In her presentation, Olga Emelyanenko, Project Manager of the HSE Management System Development Department at SUEK-Kuzbass, details the methodology for working with hazardous production situations (HPS), which has been successfully applied in the company for seven years.

The speaker demonstrates by example that an injury is not an accident, but the logical result of an unrecognized or out-of-control hazard. Only the time, place, and people who happen to be in the HPS development zone are random. That is why the focus shifts from investigating consequences to proactively identifying and eliminating threats.

What are HPS and How to Work with Them

A hazardous production situation is a combination of factors that can lead to a negative event. The speaker analyzes three stages of HPS development:

• Inception: the emergence of a potential threat (for example, storing dismantled equipment in a pile). At this stage, it is important to record the problem before it starts interfering with the workflow.
• Development: the escalation of the threat, when the probability of an incident increases. This requires prompt intervention and the definition of an area of responsibility for elimination.
• Realization: the moment when the threat turns into a real incident or injury. The goal of the methodology is to prevent the situation from reaching this stage.

Algorithm for Identification and Control

The presentation details the HPS workflow cycle, which includes several key stages:

• Identification: occurs at the worksite, during internal inspections, and through the analysis of prescriptions and accidents. A key role is assigned to the production service, which is located directly in the work area.
• Registration and planning: identified HPS are entered into a unified register. Elimination measures are developed and taken into account when planning production programs.
• Control and reporting: the system involves daily operational reports, weekly conferences, and monthly planning. This ensures continuous monitoring of the status of each situation from identification to complete elimination.

Implementation Results and Methodology Adaptation

During the application of the methodology at the company's enterprises, about 8,000 hazardous production situations were identified and eliminated. The speaker notes that this approach allows avoiding getting bogged down in hundreds of abstract risks, but rather solving pressing problems, showing real improvements.

Involving production personnel in the HPS identification process improves the overall safety culture. Workers see the concrete results of their hazard reports, which motivates them to participate further. In addition, the costs of identifying and eliminating HPS are disproportionately lower than the losses from downtime, accidents, and reputational damage.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to properly classify the stages of a hazardous production situation?
• How to involve production personnel in the HPS identification process?
• How to integrate HPS management into the existing risk management system?
• How to build an effective control cycle from identifying to eliminating a threat?