First Steps in Safety

From Zero to Industry Leadership: First Steps in a New Company

Building a Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) management system from scratch is a challenge that requires a systematic approach and support from top management. The presentation details the experience of transitioning to a company with a basic level of safety and the process of transforming the corporate culture. The speaker breaks down the key elements necessary to initiate changes: from engaging shareholders to implementing automated tracking systems.

Demonstrating Management Commitment

The foundation of any change in safety culture is the real, not just declared, support of top executives. The speaker demonstrates by example how involving the company owner changes the attitude towards safety at all levels.

• Site Visits (Gemba): Regular visits by top management to facilities demonstrate the priority of safety and trigger a cascade of audits at the line management level.
• Safety Committees: Holding regular meetings chaired by a shareholder, where production managers report on real improvements, not just HSE specialists.

The Three Pillars of the Safety Management System

Instead of creating numerous ineffective standards, the speaker suggests focusing on three basic processes around which the entire system is built.

1. Daily Safety Audits

The practice of daily morning walk-throughs of production areas followed by a short meeting allows for the prompt identification and elimination of violations. The evaluation of audit results (from "excellent" to "unsatisfactory") directly affects motivation: from bonuses for crews to penalties for managers.

2. Investigation of All Incidents

Combating the concealment of incidents is a critical step. Implementing cardinal rules that prohibit concealment under the threat of dismissal, and changing the notification scheme (reporting to a dispatcher rather than an immediate supervisor) reduce the temptation to "hush up" an incident. Prompt distribution of incident information throughout the company creates a transparent environment.

3. Training and Conscious Attitude

Changing the culture is impossible without training. The speaker emphasizes the importance of cascade training, starting with top management. Special attention is paid to defensive driving and first aid courses (using modern mannequins), which allows employees to project safety principles onto their daily lives.

Automation as a Prerequisite

Managing safety in a large company is impossible without IT tools. The implementation of an automated system solves several tasks at once:

• Tracking Off-the-Job Injuries: Integrating data from sick leaves helps combat the concealment of occupational injuries disguised as domestic ones and forms an objective picture (the sum of LTIFR and the off-the-job injury rate).
• Audit Monitoring: The system allows tracking the quantity and quality of audits conducted by line management, eliminating a formalistic approach.
• Investigation Control: A single database for all reports, lessons learned, and corrective actions with automatic control of execution deadlines.

Developing Internal Competencies

Instead of engaging external providers, the speaker justifies the effectiveness of creating an institute of internal trainers from among HSE specialists. This is not only economically viable but also increases the competencies of the specialists themselves, and allows training programs to be adapted to the company's specifics.

What You Will Learn from This Webinar:

• How to engage top management in safety management processes?
• Why is it important to track off-the-job injuries and how does it help combat the concealment of occupational incidents?
• How to build an effective system of daily safety audits?
• Why is the automation of HSE processes needed and what tasks does it solve?
• How to change the incident notification scheme to eliminate concealment?
• What are the benefits of creating an institute of internal safety trainers?