Establishing a Road Safety Culture: The Path from Reactive Firefighting to a Well-Structured Risk Management System

Ensuring road safety at large industrial and port sites requires a structured, comprehensive approach. Amid large-scale passenger transportation, daily commutes of thousands of employees, intensive heavy equipment operations, and complex heavy cargo logistics, ad-hoc incident response measures no longer deliver results. A real and sustainable reduction in accident rates demands an evolutionary shift from a reactive management model—after-the-fact "firefighting"—to a proactive system based on early risk assessment and the cultivation of a conscious safety culture.

This presentation provides a detailed look at practical experience in transforming transport safety management. The speaker breaks down step by step the process of building a multi-component system that combines infrastructure modernization, automated monitoring, stricter standards for contractors, and behavioral shifts across all personnel levels.

Infrastructure and Routing: Eliminating Physical Risks

Proper organization of physical space serves as the foundation for minimizing transport incidents across production facilities. Incident analysis often reveals that accidents stem not only from human error but also from the intersection of incompatible vehicle and pedestrian flows in high-traffic zones.

The presentation demonstrates how conducting entry zone audits using specialized checklists helped identify blind spots and logistical bottlenecks. A key initial solution was the physical separation of shift bus routes, personal employee vehicles, and heavy trucks. Designing dedicated parking areas, revising boarding and disembarking schemes, and strictly zoning security checkpoints instantly eliminated an entire category of incidents.

Special emphasis is placed on managing oversized and heavy cargo logistics. The approach where drivers independently chose their route across the facility was eliminated. A strict route approval process with relevant departments was introduced, mandatory escorting of non-standard machinery was organized, and a rigorous cargo securing inspection standard was implemented.

Smart Monitoring: Checklists, Telematics, and Machine Vision

Proactive risk management is impossible without continuous collection of objective data. The implementation of new safety requirements is reinforced by a multi-tiered inspection system, starting from equipment procurement or hiring a transport contractor.

Rustam Azizov provides examples of practical checklist application for dispatching vehicles onto routes. This practice applies to both leased transport and internal forklifts. Crucially, accountability for inspection accuracy is shared by both the driver and line manager, driving up overall discipline.

Telematics and intelligent video surveillance systems are actively deployed for continuous monitoring of driver behavior on routes. Installing AI cameras in the cabs of fleet vehicles and heavy machinery automated the detection of critical violations: unfastened seatbelts, mobile phone use, smoking, or signs of fatigue and drowsiness. The adoption of machine vision systems delivered dramatic results—reducing dangerous violations (distracted driving, microsleeps) by 90%.

Personnel Competencies and Automated Access Control

Technical regulations and physical barriers are only effective when employees change their attitude toward safety. Introducing a defensive driving course became the cornerstone of this new culture. Completing this training shifted from a recommendation to a mandatory requirement: without successful completion, neither an employee nor a contractor representative can obtain site access permits.

To eliminate the human factor during daily fitness-for-duty screening, automated pre-trip medical examination systems were introduced. The use of self-service terminals eliminates subjective medical decisions, minimizing the risk of dispatching drivers with degraded health conditions. Similarly, the site induction process was digitized: employees complete briefings via interactive terminals, saving time and guaranteeing 100% coverage.

Direct communication formats are used to engage drivers—weekly driver squad meetings held without senior management, where root causes of violations are openly discussed. Professional skills competitions serve as an extra motivational tool, bringing together in-house drivers, amateur drivers, and contractor employees alike.

KPIs for Managers and Pilot Projects

Sustaining results requires systematic oversight from managers. The company developed a system of monitoring road safety KPIs for department heads. Key metrics include accident rate, percentage of personnel trained in defensive driving, and violation trends captured by satellite tracking and cameras. This forces line management to move beyond paper audits and actively manage non-compliance on the ground.

Finally, promising future initiatives are explored: color demarcation projects for forklift operation zones and the deployment of autonomous light notification systems. The latter enables rerouting shift buses to safe shelter areas upon arrival during emergency situations, preventing overcrowding at security gates.

What you will learn from this presentation:

• How to organize safe routing and segregate different traffic streams at a large industrial site?
• What key nuances are involved in introducing mandatory defensive driving courses as a prerequisite for site entry?
• How effective telematics systems and in-cab AI cameras are in combating driver fatigue and mobile phone use?
• How to automate pre-trip medical examinations and safety briefings using interactive terminals?
• How to establish and refine a road safety KPI system for fleet managers?