Metalloinvest: "Safety Above the Plan"

Parity of Production and Safety: The Cost of Hidden Risks

In continuous production processes, such as metallurgy, any unplanned shutdown entails a disruption of the entire technological chain. Historically, fulfilling the production plan was often prioritized over potential risks. However, major incidents radically change this approach. During his presentation, Alexander Lazutkin, HSE Director at the Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant (part of Metalloinvest), analyzes an illustrative case: an accident at an electric arc furnace that resulted in a month-long shutdown of the line and losses exceeding one billion rubles.

This incident became a catalyst for top management to reconsider their attitude towards preventive safety. The speaker emphasizes that safety and production are two equal pillars of business efficiency. Ignoring unsafe conditions inevitably leads to accidents that require the emergency involvement of contractors, the search for unplanned budgets, and a lengthy recovery of processes. Today, the company has built a large-scale risk management system: over 28,000 risks have been identified, including 180 fatal ones, which allows stopping dangerous actions before they lead to a disaster.

Stop Work Authority Tool: From Skepticism to Practice

A key element of the new safety culture was the introduction of the right of line personnel to stop unsafe work. Workers manage processes daily and are the first to notice critical deviations. The goal of the tool is to make employees the main assistants in preventing incidents by overcoming their fear of management.

The implementation was accompanied by serious resistance and distrust from the production block. The main concern of chief engineers and shop managers was the possibility of mass and unjustified stoppages that could disrupt the fulfillment of the plan. To overcome this barrier, the company introduced a transparent mechanism for recording refusals via a mobile app, and in areas without internet access, via paper forms at workplaces. Each stoppage is analyzed in detail at morning operational meetings with the participation of the chief engineer to find root causes, not to look for guilty parties.

Leadership Protection and Risk Management in a Continuous Cycle

A critically important success factor was the firm stance of top management. The Managing Director acted as an absolute guarantor of the immunity of workers who exercised their right to stop work. Instead of sanctions, such employees receive encouragement, their actions are highlighted in internal media and set as an example, which gradually destroys distrust in the team.

The speaker examines in detail the mechanics of actions after a refusal is recorded. In continuous production conditions (for example, when there are 150 tons of molten metal in a furnace), an immediate shutdown of equipment is not always technologically possible. In such cases, compensating measures are promptly developed: barriers are created to safely complete the cycle or transfer the process under the enhanced control of the foreman until the identified red risk is completely eliminated.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to convince top management and the production block of the economic necessity of the Stop Work Authority?
• What technical solutions simplify the recording of hazardous conditions by line personnel?
• How to protect proactive workers from pressure by foremen and section heads after stopping a process?
• What to do if an immediate shutdown of equipment is impossible due to the technological features of continuous production?
• How to distinguish a real production risk from a worker's banal misunderstanding of safe task execution methods?