Production Safety and Operational Excellence

Integrating Safety into the Enterprise Business System

Traditionally, production safety and operational excellence are perceived as parallel, and sometimes even competing, directions. However, modern practice demonstrates that the sustainable development of an enterprise is impossible without their deep integration. In this presentation, representatives of KAO Azot — Director of Production Safety Oleg Khrabrovsky and Director of Business System Development Nikolay Denisov — analyze the mechanics of merging these functions using the example of a large-scale chemical production facility.

Performance evaluation is built at the intersection of classical injury metrics and the level of personnel engagement. Notably, the company tracks the total Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR), including not only occupational but also off-the-job injuries, by conducting extensive preventive work.

From the perspective of operational improvements, employee activity serves as a key indicator. Every year, about 5,000 proposals are implemented through the corporate "Idea Factory," of which more than 30% (about 1,500 initiatives) directly relate to improvements in occupational health and industrial safety. This demonstrates that frontline personnel perceive safety as an integral part of the production process.

Abandoning Formalism: The Evolution of Behavioral Audits

One of the most unconventional solutions voiced by the speakers was the complete abandonment of quantitative KPIs for Behavioral Safety Audits (BSA). Analysis showed that rigid target-setting inevitably leads to formalism: managers close plans at the end of the month "for the sake of appearances," filling out voluminous protocols without actually visiting the shop floor.

Instead, the company shifted to a proactive model. Safety conversations became voluntary, and the reporting format was reduced to a minimum — documentation takes no more than 35 seconds and requires only the location and the essence of the unsafe act (e.g., lack of PPE). This approach allowed the focus to shift from the quantity of paperwork to the quality of the dialogue between the manager and the worker at the gemba.

Leadership Tools and a Risk-Based Approach

The presentation provides a detailed review of the portfolio of tools that ensure risk reduction while optimizing costs. A risk-based approach allowed the company to reduce operational safety costs by 40% compared to the previous year, directing resources precisely where they are critically needed.

Key practices include:

• "Safety Patrol" — management attention is focused exclusively on high-risk work. Internal statistics showed that 80% of all incidents occur there.
• "Risk Hunting" — a program for identifying potential threats by employees themselves at their workplaces, which is being scaled across all production units.
• Top Management Involvement — creating a corporate environment where it becomes "uncomfortable" for senior executives to remain on the sidelines. Regular walk-throughs with the participation of functional directors (production, maintenance, energy) have become a regular practice, shaping a safety culture from the top down.

What you will learn from this presentation:

• How to integrate occupational safety metrics into the overall system for evaluating enterprise operational excellence?
• Why does abandoning planned targets for behavioral safety audits (BSA) increase their actual effectiveness?
• How to stimulate the submission of over 1,500 safety initiatives from the workforce annually?
• How does a risk-based approach help reduce operational safety costs without compromising reliability?
• How to build a leadership architecture where top managers independently initiate their participation in safety projects?