The new industrial safety audit format aims to eliminate violation root causes

2024-06-04 15:09 Governance Russia Report

In 2024, the Nornickel's Occupational Health and Safety Department introduces a new audit format. This is a step forward towards more efficient identification and resolution of problems at production sites.

The experience from previous audits showed that the old methods failed to achieve the desired results: violations were identified, addressed, but reappeared.

What we needed wasn't just a change to the process. We needed to create a new safety culture that will allow:

Identifying the root causes of violations.
Finding simple and practical solutions to eliminate these causes.

This led to the creation of a new occupational health and safety audit format, working in collaboration with production representatives.

NADEZHDA PLATONOVA,
Head of the Occupational Health and Safety Department:

“Safety is needed in real life, not on paper, so we do not want to introduce a document that is written out of touch with reality. It is important for us to get the new audit format, which is the result of joint work with production workers.”

Simplicity is the basis

The new audit format was created to be as simple as possible to enable easier improvement later. In 2024, the format will be adapted, following comments and suggestions from colleagues at production sites. During the first three audits in the Norilsk, Kola and Transbaikal divisions, the Department auditors received valuable feedback, which provided the basis for current improvements to the format.

It is important to note that during the three audits department employees encountered no rejection or resistance to the new format from colleagues at production sites.

VIKTOR GOFMAN,
Head of Occupational Health and Safety:

“There existed some doubts, but we successfully disproved them during the audit. Our colleagues saw it for themselves that all of the above was not mere chatter. The audit is going exactly as we initially told them.”

Focus on customer orientation

Previously, only staff from the Occupational Health and Safe Department were involved in audits. Starting from 2024, audits are conducted by a cross-functional team consisting of auditors, accompanying production representatives and managers of the audited facilities.

At the end of each audit day, a meeting is held where auditors communicate with the facility managers. The purpose of such meetings, which take place in a friendly atmosphere, is to work out and make necessary decisions. They will be the result of the audit rather than instructions from an auditor as it was previously.

A distinctive feature of the new format is
that liability is incurred not for violation, but for failure to fulfill jointly developed agreements.

The new format is a transition from the audit of control to the audit of development. A friendly and customer-oriented approach is important.

VIKTOR GOFMAN:

“It is important to correct a systemic error, not to punish for its occurrence. Therefore, if an error is identified, it is in the interests of all audit participants to correct it. Together we come to agreement on how to do it. But if the agreements are not fulfilled, then and only then will we resort to sanctions.”

Worker involvement

An important innovation of the new format is roundtable discussions with workers. In the course of the audit, two such events are held. During roundtable discussions, auditors discuss with ordinary employees of the facility the deficiencies that have been identified, their causes and ways of resolution.

NADEZHDA PLATONOVA:

“We want to hear the opinion of every production representative . Workers know things that the site manager may not be aware of, and vice versa. It is extremely important for us to get a holistic picture of the situation. Without this, it is impossible to get to the root causes of violations.”

For example, an auditor finds out that employees do not file refusals of work. His task is to find out the root cause during the roundtable discussion. It is possible that everything is fine at the site and there is no point in refusals, or probably workers simply do not know that this can be done, or someone does not give them such an opportunity. The purpose of the discussion is to find out what exactly is the reason behind the problem.

According to the auditors, this tool proved to be very effective. There were even cases when the managers of the audited facility asked auditors to discuss a particular topic with the staff. It was interesting for them to see the situation with different eyes.

Based on the results of the roundtable discussion, a report is generated, in which the head of the audited facility receives feedback in an aggregated and anonymized format. It is up to him to decide what to do with it. He may just take note of it, or may initiate some actions. It is his area of responsibility.

VIKTOR GOFMAN

“We tell the head of the audited facility that if he thinks everything is fine, nothing needs to be done, that is his right. Such situations may also happen. But if he thinks that something needs to be done, he is welcome to do it. He is the manager, the responsibility is his."

10 hypotheses for each audit area

Under the new format, an auditor is not trying to check everything and everyone. He determines what exactly he wants to check. The auditor selects 3–5 out of 15 areas, then formulates about 10 hypotheses for each area and checks them. This approach makes it necessary for auditors to be better prepared for the audit.

Now it will not be possible to use 10–20 “routine” questions to “pick up” violations. It is necessary to delve deep into the topic, come up with interesting and necessary hypotheses, and check them. The auditor does not set a goal to prove each hypothesis at any cost. The hypotheses may not be confirmed in reality.

Data obtained during the audit is stored and used in future to check results and develop new hypotheses. In this way, we can observe dynamics by getting a clear picture of what is happening at the facility.

Violations beyond hypotheses

If during the audit an auditor comes across a violation that is not articulated in the hypothesis, he will not neglect it. His task is to document information about the violation by putting it in the “Audit Findings” column and attaching it to the audit protocol. During the meeting at the end of the day, the auditor will announce this finding so that the head of the audited facility is aware of what is happening. The information will be used to form hypotheses for the next audit.

May, 2024