Implementation of a Mobile Complex for Assessing and Developing the HSE Management System at Russian Railways (RZD)

Context: The Scale and Challenges of Training in a Distributed Structure

Ensuring occupational safety in companies with a widespread territorial structure requires unconventional approaches to training. When dealing with hundreds of thousands of employees and tens of thousands of kilometers of infrastructure, traditional methods of face-to-face training in educational centers become not only economically costly but also organizationally complex. Under such conditions, there is a need for mobile solutions capable of delivering high-quality educational content directly to workplaces, even in the most remote divisions.

During the webinar, Anton Zachinyaev, Head of the Regulatory Department of the Ecology and Technosphere Safety Directorate at Russian Railways (RZD), shares the experience of transforming the occupational safety training system. The speaker breaks down the company's journey from standard lecture formats to active engagement methods and details the concept of mobile training complexes, which are becoming a key element in developing a safety culture.

From "Trainee" to "Learner": Implementing Active Formats

The traditional approach to occupational safety training, where the instructor lectures and the listener passively absorbs the material, has proven to be highly ineffective. An analysis of the causes of occupational injuries confirms that the vast majority of incidents are related to the human factor. To change the situation, a transition to active forms of training is required, where the employee becomes a full participant in the process, draws their own conclusions, and forms a conscious attitude toward safety.

The presentation details the format of occupational safety assessment sessions implemented in the company. This approach includes:

• Solving practical cases and business games: participants analyze real-life situations, which contributes to better assimilation of the material and the development of decision-making skills in non-standard conditions.
• Generating safety ideas: employees independently propose improvements for their workplaces, which increases their engagement and responsibility.
• Public speaking practice: middle managers practice the skills of communicating safety requirements to their teams, becoming leaders of change on the ground.

To scale this approach, the company has trained over a thousand internal moderators from among occupational safety specialists, which has made it possible to conduct assessment sessions directly in structural divisions.

The Occupational Safety Railcar: A Mobile Competence Center

Given the colossal length of the infrastructure (over 85 thousand kilometers) and the presence of thousands of remote divisions, the company has relied on the use of specialized occupational safety railcars. This is not just a vehicle, but a full-fledged mobile training complex integrated into the occupational safety management system.

The speaker demonstrates by example how the modernization of railcars expands their functionality:

• Transformable learning space: replacing stationary desks with folding furniture allows for active training sessions, business games, and practical first aid classes.
• Integration of modern technologies: equipping railcars with interactive panels and VR simulators provides immersion in a virtual environment to practice handling dangerous situations without health risks.
• Risk-oriented planning: railcar routes are formed based on risk analysis, which allows resources to be directed to those divisions where they are most needed.

In addition to training employees, railcar crews conduct audits, consultations, and collect feedback from the field, acting as a link between remote divisions and decision-making centers. Furthermore, the railcars are involved in preventive work with the public, including conducting classes for schoolchildren in the "Train of Knowledge" format.

Economic Efficiency of Mobile Training

The implementation of mobile complexes demonstrates not only qualitative but also quantitative results. Training directly on-site significantly reduces the costs of business trips, accommodation, and the payment of average earnings during the employees' absence from their main workplace. Similar savings are achieved when conducting field audits.

Although the modernization of railcars requires investment, calculations show the significant economic potential of the project, which complements the main effect — a reduction in the level of occupational injuries.

What You Will Learn from This Webinar:

• How to transition from formal briefings to active forms of training that engage employees in safety issues?
• How to organize the training of internal trainers (moderators) to conduct assessment sessions on-site?
• How to integrate mobile training complexes into the overall occupational safety management system?
• Which technologies (including VR) are most effective for equipping mobile training classrooms?
• How to calculate the economic feasibility of implementing mobile training tools in a distributed company?