Developing a Safety Culture in Manufacturing: Fostering Worker Awareness

From Formal Instructions to Conscious Safety

Transforming attitudes toward HSE in modern enterprises requires a shift from directive management to building a sustainable safety culture. When compliance with rules becomes not just a regulatory requirement but an internal need for every employee, the company achieves a real reduction in injury rates. During the webinar, Pavel Mitrokhin, Head of HSE at Oriflame (Cetes Cosmetics factory), details practical steps for engaging personnel in occupational safety issues.

Key Elements of a Safety Culture

The presentation emphasizes that a successful strategy is based on two equal elements: behavioral (professional knowledge and skills) and personal (internal values and motives). If an employee has the necessary qualifications but their personal beliefs diverge from safe work principles, the system fails. Using his company as an example, the speaker shows how important it is to make safety a real, rather than declared, priority, backing management's words with concrete actions and investments in improving working conditions.

Personnel Motivation: A Balance of Incentives

To change employee behavioral patterns, a combination of two types of motivation is used: "towards" (striving for a positive result) and "away from" (avoiding negative consequences).

• Tangible and intangible "towards" motivation: Includes bonuses for achieving safety metrics, as well as participation in corporate events (master classes, nature trips, informal meetings with management). This forms a positive association with HSE compliance.
• "Away from" motivation: Aimed at eradicating the practice of hushing up near-miss incidents. If an employee hides a micro-injury or a hazardous situation, disciplinary measures are applied. Conversely, timely reporting of risks is encouraged.

Evolution of Safety Audits

The speaker analyzes the practice of implementing three-tier control. In the initial stages of implementation, the problem of a formal approach at the first tier often arises, when line managers fail to record actual violations. The solution is to conduct joint inspections by HSE specialists and department heads until the skill of identifying risks is solidified.

Special attention is given to remote audits using video communication tools. Despite the obvious resource savings, this format requires heightened attention, as it is easy to miss hidden equipment defects through a camera, such as loosened rack fastenings.

Social Dialogue as a Tool for Improvement

A safety culture is impossible without functioning feedback channels. The company has implemented several tools for collecting initiatives: regular HSE committee meetings, anonymous "red boxes" for suggestions, and annual surveys. A critical success factor is the mandatory response to every submission: even if a suggestion cannot be implemented immediately, the employee must receive a reasoned reply.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to overcome the formal approach of line managers during the first tier of control?
• Which formats of intangible motivation show the greatest effectiveness on the production floor?
• How to organize the collection of information on micro-injuries and near-misses while avoiding team resistance?
• What are the main risks of remote safety audits and how to minimize them?
• How to act if experienced employees or managers openly sabotage new HSE requirements?