Tools for Improving Safety Culture – Practical Experience

Evolution of Safety Culture: From Formalism to Engagement

Improving safety culture at a large manufacturing enterprise with a continuous operating cycle is a task that requires unconventional approaches. Traditional methods of control and briefings are gradually losing their effectiveness, giving way to interactive and engaging formats. In her presentation, Anna Litovchenko, Head of the HSE Department at the Volzhsky Pipe Plant, details the practical experience of implementing five tools that not only reduced the number of violations but also changed employees' attitudes toward safety issues.

Engagement and Control Tools

Monthly Safety Days

The practice of holding annual Safety Days at the company level was expanded to a monthly format at the plant level. The creation of cross-functional working groups consisting of managers and HSE specialists made it possible to conduct regular walkthroughs of assigned departments. This is important because regular audits not only identify risks but also form a habit of safe behavior. As a result, group members increased their expertise, and the number of identified risks and proposed measures to improve working conditions increased significantly.

Public Investigation Commissions

The speaker demonstrates by example how involving highly qualified workers in the investigation of accidents and abnormal situations changes the process. Workers with a "fresh" perspective often see root causes that might escape specialists. This increases the transparency of investigations and the trust of the team, and also provides valuable feedback for developing more effective corrective actions.

Steel Safety Room

The induction briefing has been transformed from a formal reading of rules into an interactive process. A specially equipped room with a diorama screen and surround sound shows a safety film. Interactive elements, such as a "safety line" that reacts to being crossed, clearly demonstrate the consequences of violations. This approach significantly increases the informativeness and memorability of the material.

Quest Room for Line Managers

To solve the problem of insufficient effectiveness of the first and second levels of control, a quest room was created. Real production objects (machines, tools) with artificially simulated violations were placed in an unused room. Line managers complete the route, identifying these violations within a limited time. This allows them to practically test and improve their risk identification skills, which led to a 50% increase in the detection of violations in the workplace.

VR Simulator: Digital Analog of the Quest Room

The development of the quest room idea was a VR simulator that allows modeling any, even the largest or most dangerous objects and situations that cannot be recreated in reality. Despite the higher development cost and possible health restrictions for users, VR technologies provide unlimited opportunities for practicing safe behavior skills and identifying violations in a virtual environment.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to organize effective monthly Safety Days with management involvement?
• Why involve workers in incident investigations and how does it affect team trust?
• How to turn a boring induction briefing into a memorable interactive event?
• How to create a quest room for training line managers in violation identification skills?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of VR simulators compared to real training grounds?