Direct Line with HSE Leaders: Alexander Pivikov

The transition from formal compliance to conscious occupational safety is impossible without the active participation of top management. However, in practice, HSE specialists regularly face resistance, a lack of time among top managers, and a formal approach to leadership walkarounds. As part of the new "Direct Line" format, Alexander Pivikov, an expert with twenty years of experience in industrial safety, analyzes real cases of corporate culture transformation and the establishment of effective HSE processes.

Involving Top Executives: From Formalism to Real Leadership

A key problem for many enterprises remains the declarative attitude of management towards safety issues. Using large industrial holdings as an example, the speaker shows how to systematically change this situation. The foundation of the approach is regular visits to production sites (gemba) by top executives, focusing exclusively on safety audits.

To prevent this process from turning into a routine, a mechanism for digitizing management activity is proposed. Collecting statistics on conducted audits, forming engagement ratings, and publicly discussing them on safety days create a transparent environment. An important element is the preliminary preparation of the CEO's rhetoric: emphasis at meetings should be placed based on objective data, where laggards receive corrective feedback, and leaders receive public recognition.

Digitalization of Processes: Resource Savings and Proactive Analytics

Safety management at a large enterprise generates a massive amount of data. The presentation details the transition to automated management systems that solve several tasks at once:

• Safety audits: consolidating all types of inspections into a single database allows tracking the quality of report completion, identifying formalism, and generating proactive indicators.
• Incident investigation: digitizing methodologies (e.g., "Five Whys") and monitoring the execution of hundreds of corrective actions eliminate information loss.
• Electronic permit-to-work: abandoning paper document flow and the physical movement of personnel for approvals can save tens of millions of rubles annually, directing these resources toward real improvements in working conditions.

Why Fines Don't Work and How to Build Motivation

The traditional system of bonus deprivation for HSE rule violations often leads to incident concealment and staff resentment. A fine is perceived by workers as a kind of "fee" for the right to break a rule. Instead, it is proposed to use pass blocking with a mandatory subsequent conversation with the immediate supervisor and retraining.

For positive reinforcement of safe behavior, the speaker recommends public recognition tools. Thematic gifts for identifying risks, rotating awards for the best departments, and articles in corporate publications form the right guidelines without the risk of falsifying indicators for the sake of a cash bonus.

Balancing Compliance and Culture Development

HSE specialists, overloaded with legislative compliance tasks, inevitably engage in culture development on a residual basis. The solution to this problem is allocating dedicated specialists or entire departments focused exclusively on cultural initiatives, communications, and training. At the same time, it is critically important to build horizontal connections so that on-site inspectors broadcast unified values and approaches.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to argue to top management the need for personal participation in safety audits?
• What non-obvious trainings help change managers' attitudes towards risks?
• How to properly integrate contractors into the company's safety loop?
• Where to start automating HSE processes and which modules yield the greatest economic effect?
• How to justify the costs of expensive occupational safety measures to the investment committee?