On the Same Wavelength! How Irkutsk Oil Company Built a Communication System and Engaged Everyone in Safety Issues

Communication as the Weak Link in Industrial Safety

In domestic industrial practice, communication often remains the weakest element in the management chain. Based on the concept of trimetric unity (thinking, communication, activity), it can be noted that with a high level of planning and labor intensity, the quality of information exchange between management levels often suffers. Yuri Anufriev, Director of the Expertise and Best Practices Department at Irkutsk Oil Company (INK), clearly shows how overcoming this barrier directly affects the reduction of occupational injuries. In recent years, the company has managed to reduce the Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIR) by 90% and the Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR) by 68% by building a transparent dialogue system.

Multilevel System: From Top Management to Line Personnel

The presentation details the architecture of interaction platforms that covers all levels of the company. The speaker breaks down the difference between the Central Industrial Safety Committee, where top management makes strategic decisions, and the Production Site Committees, which are led by shop managers directly at the fields. This separation avoids mixing strategic goals with operational issues while ensuring end-to-end information transfer.

Regular formats have been introduced for line personnel: monthly Safety Days in departments and weekly Stop Hours. Importantly, these platforms are used not for formal reading of instructions, but for open dialogue. Stop Hours cover highly specialized high-risk topics — from dynamic risk assessment to slinging rules and hand safety. This allows focusing workers' attention on specific threats at the moment of performing work.

Integrating Contractors into the Safety Loop

Special attention in the communication system is given to partners. INK adheres to the principle where a contractor is considered as the company's own employee. Specialized platforms are used to synchronize requirements and develop the safety culture of contracting organizations.

• Thematic safety forums: held three times a year for heads of contracting organizations. This is a platform for exchanging practical cases, analyzing incidents, and demonstrating the correct use of PPE.
• "Safe Thursday": monthly meetings directly at production facilities. The format allows promptly resolving current issues, analyzing injury trends, and reviewing audit results in the field.
• Single window for road safety: separate monthly meetings with specialists responsible for road safety among contractors, which allowed INK to reduce the severity of road accidents by 51%.

Practical Tools for Engagement and Feedback

The speaker shows how the system evolves using the example of safety leadership visits. As the level of safety culture grew (the company uses the "Hearts and Minds" methodology), INK abandoned strict schedules for leadership visits. Managers began to take the initiative on their own, which made the dialogue with workers more natural and open.

Additionally, an effective feedback loop with suppliers of personal protective equipment has been built. Quarterly meetings with the general PPE contractor are based on direct feedback from workers collected through the internal portal. This allows quickly adapting the workwear line to real working conditions and removing everyday irritants that interfere with the focus on safety.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to divide the agenda and authority between safety committees of different levels?
• What meeting formats help engage heads of contracting organizations in developing a safety culture?
• How to organize the collection and processing of feedback from line personnel on the quality of issued PPE?
• Why abandoning strict schedules for leadership visits can indicate an increase in the level of safety culture?
• How to integrate HSE issues into non-core corporate events, such as HR days?