Safety Development Strategy at NLMK Group

Management System Evolution: From Function to Business Strategy

The development of a Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) strategy often faces a classic problem: the document is created within a specialized department and remains disconnected from actual production processes. Pavel Zakharov, HSE Director at NLMK Group, analyzes a practical case of transforming the approach to safety, where the strategy becomes an integral part of the business, and the responsibility for its implementation shifts to the managers of production sites.

The presentation examines in detail Peter Drucker's thesis that "culture eats strategy for breakfast." Using the metallurgical industry as an example, the speaker shows why implementing advanced tools without considering the current maturity level of the corporate culture is doomed to fail, and how to properly prepare the ground for large-scale changes.

Preparatory Stage: Factor Analysis and Risk Assessment

Forming a viable strategy begins not with setting abstract goals, but with a deep diagnosis of the current state. The speaker suggests relying on a retrospective factor analysis of incidents.

• Historical data analysis: collecting information on all incidents over the past five years helps identify systemic failures. This provides an understanding of exactly which works (investment projects, capital repairs) and which risk factors (heights, pinching, hand tools) materialize most often.
• Management system audit: internal assessment identifies formally operating elements of the HSE system that require revision and integration into the new strategy.
• Real risk assessment: transitioning from formal registers for supervisory authorities to working management tools. If targeted resources are not allocated to manage a critical risk, this risk remains uncontrolled.

Independent Assessment and the Role of Experts

An outside perspective is necessary for an objective picture. However, the key success factor here is choosing the right auditors. The presentation emphasizes that an independent assessment of the safety culture should be conducted by experts with practical experience working at the culture level the company aspires to. This is the only way to obtain an adequate assessment of the gap between the current and desired state.

Overcoming Barriers and Engaging Leadership

Implementing a strategy is impossible without overcoming systemic resistance. The speaker highlights several critical conditions without which even the most well-developed plan will remain on paper:

• Resource provision: the strategy must be supported by finances, time, and personnel. The request for resources should occur during the strategy defense stage before top management.
• Competence transformation: changes must begin with the HSE function itself. The team must be the first to transition to a new culture level to become a guide for changes for production departments.
• Responsibility paradigm shift: the strategy only works when production managers take responsibility for implementing safety tasks, and the HSE function acts as a methodologist and integrator of best practices.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• Where to start developing an HSE strategy so that it reflects real production problems?
• How to correctly choose experts for an independent assessment of the safety culture?
• Why setting a goal of "zero fatalities" for the next year might be a mistake and how to set realistic KPIs?
• How to convince top management to allocate the necessary resources for implementing strategic initiatives?
• How to transfer responsibility for safety from the HSE department to the heads of production areas?