Effective Communication of HSE Performance Indicators to Top Management

The Language of Numbers: Overcoming the Barrier Between HSE and Management

One of the key challenges in developing a safety culture remains the communication gap between specialized professionals and top management. CEOs and company presidents think in terms of numbers, profitability, and efficiency, while occupational safety specialists often use specific terminology that the business does not understand. In his presentation, Ivan Drepin analyzes a practical case of a mining company transforming this communication. The transition from long descriptive reports to concise digital indicators allowed not only finding a common language with top management but also involving them in the safety management process.

Modular Dashboard Architecture

To promptly inform the company's top executives, a special digital tool was developed — a one-page dashboard. The main principle of its construction: a minimum number of words and a maximum concentration of data. The speaker demonstrates by example how the dashboard structure is divided into constants and interchangeable modules.

• Baseline metrics (constants): average headcount, number of minor, severe, and fatal accidents (including non-work-related ones), as well as the LTIFR indicator. This is an unchanging foundation that allows assessing the overall picture.
• Interchangeable modules: incident pyramid, risk factors, results of inspections by supervisory authorities (Rostekhnadzor, State Labor Inspectorate), and work with contractors. Modularity allows adapting the report to the current requests of management and highlighting exactly those areas that require managerial intervention.
• Performance dynamics: comparing current data with the same period last year. This gives the manager a clear understanding of the trend — whether the situation is improving or degrading.

Technical Implementation and Tool Cascading

An important insight of the presentation is that creating an effective analytics system does not require colossal IT budgets. The tool is implemented based on standard solutions (e.g., SharePoint), making it accessible to companies of any size. Data is collected from subsidiaries, processed by IT specialists, and the final verification and semantic assembly are carried out by a dedicated reporting expert within the HSE structure.

The implementation of the dashboard launched a process of natural cascading. Seeing the convenience of the format, directors of production assets began to pass down similar requirements to the level of chief engineers, mechanics, and shop managers. The transparency of numbers deprives line managers of the opportunity to hide problems behind complex wording, making the reporting process fast and objective.

Analytics from the Laggards: How Decisions are Made

The speaker examines in detail the methodology of working with the received data. The analysis always begins with the worst indicators and the weakest departments. In matters of safety, a company is like a ship: the local success of one shop does not matter if there is a critical breach in another. Clear visualization of failures in statistics (for example, a spike in traffic accidents) allows the CEO to instantly initiate corrective actions — from requesting systemic causes to conducting targeted "stop-hours," for which the head of the problematic asset is personally accountable.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to fit all key HSE information onto one slide for the CEO?
• Which metrics should be made constant, and which should be flexible modules?
• How to use the statistics of fines and government inspections to engage top management?
• How does the implementation of dashboards help cascade responsibility down to the shop manager level?
• Why should the analysis of safety culture data always start with lagging departments?