Creating a System of HSE Assessment Sessions for Middle Managers at JSC Russian Railways

Transforming approaches to training production personnel is a natural stage in the development of safety culture in large corporations. Formal reading of instructions just to obtain certificates no longer meets modern challenges, especially when it comes to managing the human factor. In this webinar, Andrey Lisitsyn, Head of the Ecology and Technosphere Safety Department at JSC Russian Railways, analyzes a large-scale case study of transitioning from classic lectures to interactive assessment sessions for middle managers.

From Formal Training to Safe Thinking

An analysis of occupational injuries shows that the human factor — habitual but unsafe actions of workers — is at the root of most incidents. Traditional training without interactivity and involvement in solving practical tasks turns out to be almost half as effective as modern formats. Workers often do not understand the true purpose of briefings, perceiving them as a bureaucratic necessity for work clearance.

To solve this problem, a system of assessment sessions was developed, the main goal of which is to form conscious safe thinking. This is a state in which an employee follows the rules even when not observed by management.

Architecture of Assessment Sessions: Cases Instead of Dry Theory

An assessment session is a comprehensive educational process built on real production experience. The presentation details the stages of conducting such sessions:

• Entrance testing: determining the baseline level of participants' competencies on the first day of training to understand the group's initial data.
• Analysis of real cases: analyzing documented historical incidents from the company's database. Participants study what violations led to the consequences and what proactive actions could have prevented the tragedy.
• Group discussions and business games: practicing correct action algorithms in a safe environment, which promotes the development of critical thinking.
• Final assessment and feedback: forming individual development plans based on expert assessment by teachers, mutual assessment by colleagues, and self-assessment in workbooks.

Scaling Through the Institute of Moderators

It is physically impossible to train hundreds of thousands of employees using the resources of a single corporate university. To replicate the methodology, the company implemented a cascading training model. A group of more than 800 moderators was trained at a specialized university. The most motivated specialists who have completed this training return to their enterprises and conduct assessment sessions for line managers and foremen directly on site. This allows covering the maximum number of personnel with high-quality training without colossal travel expenses.

Digitalization and Virtual Classrooms

An important element of the new system is a unified information and educational environment. Instead of outdated physical HSE classrooms with irrelevant visual aids, virtual 3D classrooms and VR simulators are being introduced. The speaker shows by example how workers wearing virtual reality headsets can practice troubleshooting at a station under train traffic conditions or jointly distribute roles when issuing a work permit in a simulation. This not only reduces the cost of updating the material base but also radically increases learner engagement.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to design an HSE assessment session and integrate the analysis of real production incidents into it?
• By what criteria to select and train internal moderators for cascading personnel training on site?
• How to evaluate training effectiveness through a system of entrance and final testing, as well as cross-feedback?
• What elements of gamification and VR technologies are advisable to implement for practicing the practical skills of line personnel?
• How to calculate the cost of a single accident for the company and use this data to justify investments in safety?