Engaging Managers and Developing HSE Leadership at NLMK Group

From a Formal Approach to Real HSE Leadership

Leadership in Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) is not just the first point in the management system, but the foundation without which other elements do not work. In his presentation, Pavel Zakharov, HSE Director at NLMK Group, explains how to transition from theoretical concepts to real practices of engaging managers at all levels.

Using his company as an example, the speaker shows that leadership development is a long process requiring an individual approach to each top manager. You cannot simply issue an order and expect instant changes. It is important to build trusting relationships between the HSE function and production so that the business itself realizes the value of safe work.

Engaging Top Management: From Resistance to Project Sponsorship

One of the key steps in developing a safety culture was engaging top management in managing specific risks. The speaker notes that it took six months to convince the company president and board members, but the result exceeded expectations.

• Project sponsorship by top managers. Each board member took personal control of a specific risk (for example, falling from a height or being caught/crushed). This led to a significant reduction in injuries in these areas, as the initiative came from the business, not just the HSE function.
• Creation of HSE committees. Committees headed by general directors were created at each enterprise. This allowed discussing and solving problems directly on-site, involving the corporate center only when necessary.
• Personal example of the president. Regular line walkdowns involving the top executive of the company, his personal commitments, and control over their implementation demonstrate the real priority of safety.

Tools for Engaging Line Managers and Employees

To ensure that leadership does not remain only at the top management level, the company is implementing practical tools for line managers and regular employees. The presentation details the process of their implementation: from developing the methodology to evaluating effectiveness.

• Behavioral safety dialogues. The implementation of this tool is accompanied by mandatory training and mentoring in the workplace. It is important that managers understand the meaning of the dialogues and do not treat them formally.
• Safety contacts. To make this tool work, a calendar with ready-made topics for each day was created. This helped overcome initial resistance and engage thousands of employees in regular discussions of safety issues.
• Registration of unsafe acts and conditions. Providing employees with smartphones and temporarily linking this indicator to KPIs helped form the habit of identifying and recording hazards. Even after the KPI was canceled, employee activity remained at a high level.

Training and Motivation as Drivers of Change

The speaker emphasizes the importance of practice-oriented training (70% practice, 30% theory) and proper motivation. The introduction of the president's award for the best HSE projects provided a powerful impetus for bottom-up initiatives.

In addition, holding a Safety Week instead of a single day allowed engaging tens of thousands of employees and contractors, identifying and eliminating thousands of hazards by the production team itself.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to convince top management to personally sponsor risk reduction projects?
• How to implement behavioral safety audits so they do not become a formality?
• How to use IT tools to engage employees in hazard registration?
• How to properly build the process of training in HSE tools in production?
• How to organize a Safety Week with maximum reach and practical benefits?