HSE Management System: A Course on Worker Safety

From Formal Compliance to Real Risk Management

The transition of Russian legislation to a risk-oriented approach has exposed a fundamental industry problem: strict compliance with regulatory requirements no longer equals an effective Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) management system. A formal approach averages out employers but does not prevent accidents. Petr Zhukov, Head of the Industrial Safety Department at UNIGREEN ENERGY, analyzes the HSE transformation process, combining legal requirements, international ISO standards, and principles of working with the root causes of incidents.

Architecture of a Human-Centric HSE System: 12 Elements

The presentation details an original 12-element HSE model with the worker at its center. Drawing on global practice, the speaker divides the causes of incidents into unsafe acts and unsafe conditions, forming specific protective barriers for each direction.

Preventing Unsafe Acts

Global statistics show that the vast majority of incidents are related to human actions. The model divides them into two categories:

• Direct unsafe acts. Prevented by building a commitment to safety, clearly establishing responsibilities, and establishing two-way communication. Using an interaction matrix as an example, the speaker shows how to distribute responsibility among technical managers, the HSE department, and workers on a single sheet, making the system transparent.
• Indirect unsafe acts (errors). Blocked through procedure optimization, monitoring of physical and mental conditions, and high-quality training. The implementation of telemedicine complexes at remote sites and a broader understanding of harmful factors (including stress and ergonomics) allow risks to be identified before they lead to an error.

Managing Unsafe Conditions

Working conditions require a differentiated approach depending on the possibility of their complete elimination:

• Eliminable conditions. Controlled through in-depth incident investigation (the "Five Whys" method), auditing of production processes, and integrating the HSE department into equipment reliability issues. Finding root causes replaces the standard search for the guilty and formal unscheduled briefings.
• Manageable conditions. What cannot be eliminated requires strict control. This is achieved through a meaningful assessment of occupational risks, translating safety requirements to contractors, and providing effective PPE as the last physical barrier.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to distribute safety responsibility between production units and the HSE department without duplicating functions?
• Why standard medical examinations are insufficient and how telemedicine reduces the risks of indirect unsafe acts?
• How to build effective two-way communication with personnel to identify hidden threats in the workplace?
• How the involvement of HSE specialists in monitoring technological processes and repairs prevents injuries?
• How to move away from excessive documentation and create a compact, readable, and adequate local HSE management system?