HSE Strategy and Production Strategy: Points of Intersection

Transforming Safety Culture Amid New Production Challenges

Modern industrial enterprises face a complex set of serious challenges: talent shortage, supply chain disruptions, growing technological debt in maintenance, and a sharp increase in the share of contractors. Under these conditions, the occupational safety function can no longer develop in isolation from production tasks. Attempts to force safety detached from operational efficiency inevitably lead to conflicts of interest on the ground. In his presentation, Alexander Dyakonov examines in detail the experience of Metalloinvest in synchronizing HSE and production strategies, where the business itself acts as the key customer for changes.

The transition from a reactive to a systemic level of safety culture, confirmed by assessments in 2019 and 2024, required a large-scale restructuring of processes. The foundational element was the training of over 30,000 employees, with a focus not just on broadcasting rules, but on forming a "leader's norm" — training managers in mentoring skills and transferring safe practices to their subordinates.

Integrating HSE Practices into Operations

The key insight of the webinar lies in a cross-functional approach to safety. Managing directors of enterprises have become full-fledged customers of injury reduction projects, which allowed the implementation of roadmaps for the top 5 risks to be included directly in their KPIs. Using incident investigation as an example, the speaker shows how HSE tools can bring direct benefits to production. In particular, the root cause analysis methodology, traditionally used for accident investigation, is now used jointly with production staff to analyze the causes of equipment downtime. This blurs the line between "safety" and "efficiency".

Additionally, elements of predictive analytics are being implemented: equipment dispatch data and control system signals are used to predict potential incidents before they transition into a critical phase.

Risk Management and the Right to Stop Unsafe Work

Systemic risk management has been shifted from a formal plane to a practical one. Over 56,000 risks have been identified at the plants, of which over 240 are classified as fatal. The implementation of compensating measures has completely eliminated 210 critical threats. However, the main indicator of culture maturity was the implementation of the tool to stop unsafe work.

The speaker breaks down the mechanics of this process: the initiative comes from the worker themselves (for example, in the event of an air conditioning system failure in a crane cabin). The most important success factor here is the management's reaction — instead of sanctions for downtime, prompt problem resolution or the implementation of compensating measures is organized, after which work safely resumes. More than 60 such stops accepted by line managers have already been recorded, indicating a high level of trust.

Scaling Culture to Contractors

The growth in the number of contractors by more than 60% in the maintenance and investment sectors created a risk of diluting safety standards. To solve this problem, the company does not just apply rating, but physically integrates contractors into its risk management system. The practices of conducting audits using checklists and the work of safety committees, tested on internal departments over three years, are now directly broadcast to key contractors, aligning their culture with the customer's requirements.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to make managing directors real customers of occupational safety projects and integrate safety into their KPIs?
• How is the incident investigation methodology (HSE) applied to analyze and reduce production downtime?
• How does the right to stop unsafe work operate in practice, and how to avoid conflicts with production when applying it?
• What tools allow for effective risk management with a sharp increase in the share of contractors on site?
• How to use equipment dispatch data for predictive incident analytics?