Top 10 Safety Barriers: Joint Solution Generation Session

From Theory to Real Problems: Why Safety Systems Fail

The development of an industrial safety culture often hits an invisible ceiling. Companies invest in training, implement modern IT solutions, and prescribe detailed regulations, yet in practice, the system continues to operate formally. The transition from declarative to conscious safety requires an honest dialogue about what exactly prevents processes from functioning effectively. Within a new interactive format of a joint solution generation session, industry experts attempted to identify and systematize the key barriers hindering the integration of HSE into real business processes.

During the discussion, moderated by Anna Lavrentieva, Senior Manager for the Development of the Integrated HSE Management System at Severstal, participants formed an image of an ideal system: adaptive, transparent, and human-centric. However, when confronted with reality, a deep gap between expectations and practice is revealed. Dmitry Zubov, HSE Director of the Cherkizovo Group, notes that the root of many problems lies not in technical aspects or lack of funding, but in organizational and leadership deficits.

Conflict of Interest and the Trap of Formalism

One of the most acute problems identified during the brainstorming session was the conflict of interest between fulfilling the production plan and complying with safety requirements. When a business prioritizes solely speed and volumes, HSE is perceived as an annoying hindrance. This inevitably breeds formalism.

The speaker analyzes the nature of bureaucratization using the example of behavioral safety audits. Often, the system requires line managers to perform a certain number of checks just to tick a box. The business spends colossal resources — time and effort of employees, distracting them from their main work — but does not receive quality feedback. The analysis should be based not on the number of completed checklists, but on understanding why a particular shift worked more safely: due to increased motivation or improved working conditions. Anna Lavrentieva supplements this thesis with a practical example where, due to distorted communication, production foremen conducted eight rounds per shift instead of the mandatory two, burning out from the artificially created bureaucratic burden.

Leadership and the "Human Factor" of HSE Specialists

Traditionally, the "human factor" is understood as the mistakes of line personnel. However, the presentation detailed a different perspective on this problem: the lack of competencies and leadership qualities among HSE specialists themselves.

Integrating safety into production is impossible as long as specialized departments remain isolated controllers. Specialists often lack the skills to competently "sell" the idea of safety to the business, to show its economic feasibility and profit. The ability to conduct a dialogue, resolve conflicts, and understand production processes becomes critically important. If the head of the HSE department cannot build partnerships with the production unit, the system inevitably slides into a paper exchange and mutual claims.

Clustering Barriers: What Needs to Be Addressed

Following the idea generation, all the voiced problems were grouped into several key clusters that require a systematic approach:

• Commitment and Leadership: lack of real involvement from top management and a formal attitude towards the value of human life.
• Competencies: knowledge deficit both among workers (misunderstanding of rules) and HSE specialists (inability to manage changes).
• Processes and Systems: detachment of procedures from real production, low level of digitalization, and excessive bureaucracy.
• Motivation and Communication: lack of conscious responsibility and distortion of information when transmitted to the line level.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• Why do line managers perceive HSE requirements as an excessive bureaucratic burden?
• How does the conflict of interest between the production plan and safety destroy corporate culture?
• What is the true reason for the formal approach to behavioral safety audits and how to eliminate it?
• What exact competencies do HSE specialists lack to build effective partnerships with the business?
• How to properly classify systemic barriers to start working with their root causes?