Living Safety Culture: From Instructions to Communications

From Instructions to Live Communications: Evolution of Safety Culture

The development of a safety culture in production is impossible without high-quality communications. Ruslan Abdulmanov, a leading specialist in safety culture at PJSC Tatneft, explains why even the most well-thought-out HSE tools may fail if an open dialogue is not established within the team. The presentation details the approach of internal functional coaching, where training is conducted not by external theorists, but by the company's own employees who know the specifics and risks of their production.

Why Do Safety Tools Fail?

Using brainstorming sessions with managers as an example, the speaker shows that traditional tools, such as "Key Safety Rules" or "Red Zones," work at 75-80%. At the same time, communication practices — dynamic risk assessment (DRA) and behavioral audits — often show an effectiveness level of only 30%.

• Dynamic Risk Assessment (DRA) is not just a procedure, but a philosophy of choice. An employee should not be afraid to report a risk to their manager, and the manager must be ready to listen and take action. Without trust, this tool turns into a mere formality.
• Behavioral Safety Audit (BSA) is a dialogue, not an inspection. Its goal is to understand the causes of unsafe behavior and find a solution together, rather than to punish.

How to Make Incident Reporting Effective

One of the key skills of a manager is the ability to convey information about incidents in a way that evokes a response rather than boredom. The speaker analyzes a typical mistake: reading dry facts from official flash reports. Instead, three principles of live communication are proposed:

• Storytelling: a story should evoke emotions, lead to conclusions, and end with specific actions. A story about an injured colleague, their plans, and their family works much stronger than listing injuries using medical terms.
• Dialogue instead of monologue: engaging the audience through questions ("How are things with us?", "Do we have similar risks?"). This triggers the analysis process and forces people to apply the situation to themselves.
• Rituals: creating familiar places and formats for discussing safety issues (for example, at a special board in the control room), which unites the team and emphasizes the importance of the topic.

Working with Contractors

The presentation also touches upon the topic of interaction with contractors. The same key safety rules apply to them, but with financial responsibility. At the same time, the company applies a motivating approach: the contractor can return up to 30% of the fine amount if they prove that these funds are directed towards improving working conditions (purchasing PPE, fall protection systems, etc.).

What You Will Learn from This Webinar:

• How to turn the dry reading of instructions into an engaging dialogue with employees?
• Why do communication safety tools (DRA, BSA) often stall, and how to increase their effectiveness from 30% to 90%?
• How to use storytelling when reporting accidents to truly influence people's behavior?
• How to build work with contractors, combining fines and motivation to improve working conditions?
• What are the advantages of internal functional coaching for developing a safety culture in the company?