TOGLIATTIAZOT OPERATES A UNIQUE HEALTH & SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Togliattiazot places particular emphasis on the issues of Health, Safety and Environment. The approaches implemented by the company to promote a safety culture make the experience of the plant attractive for other manufacturers.

The plant demonstrates one of industry’s best LTIFRs, a global safety indicator which stands for Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate, and has not registered a single case of occupational disease in the past 15 years.

Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility

The plant is a major global producer of commercial ammonia. It represents a single industrial area of 22 hazardous production facilities. Therefore the key objective of the plant management is to meet ambitious production targets without compromising process safety. The dedicated policy adopted by the plant states that every employee is responsible for their own safety, as well as for the safety of their colleagues and visitors. To minimize the risks, the company has been adopting the Lean Manufacturing Tools which allow reducing the so-called “unplanned losses”, including the 5S methodology for improving workplace efficiency.

It helps improve both workplace safety and productivity significantly. In addition, two years ago the plant launched a program called “The Winning Leader”. In 2016 the program was supported by the Regulation on Rewarding Personnel for High Performance in Health, Safety and Environment.

“The Program suggests that the plant staff should be proactive in preventing unsafe behaviours and unsafe conditions, and identify arising risks. This helps prevent injuries, accidents involving equipment, uncontrolled emissions of pollutants to the environment, and generation of waste. And we can see the personal commitment to safety transforming into well-coordinated teamwork,” says Vitaly Dmitruk, Deputy Operations Director for HSE, Togliattiazot Corporation CJSC.

Every year more than 100 plant workers are recognized as health and safety leaders, given that the leadership criteria are high. Corporate initiatives

of the plant in the field of industrial safety have earned critical acclaim from the Russian Trade Union of Chemical Workers. Last year, Svetlana Tkachenko, Senior Safety Ambassador of Shop 16, took the first place in the regional talent contest and was awarded the title of the “Best Safety Ambassador of the Russian Trade Union of Chemical Workers” followed by the third place in the national contest. Safety Ambassadors identify and eliminate deviations, unsafe behaviours and unsafe conditions in a prompt manner, preventing them from developing into major problems.

Zero Accident Culture

“Our plant has decided to go the extra mile to prevent losses from injuries and accidents involving equipment,” says Vitaly Dmitruk. “Through our weekly training sessions and lectures, we teach the workers to identify risks, and we have been using risk assessment tools for several years now. We set them as a mandatory requirement to candidates for Safety Leaders, and oblige them to assess risks they prevent. Besides, the plant holds regular all-round emergency response and escape training sessions. All workers of the plant have personal protective equipment to be used in an emergency.

Competent risk management is an interim step in the implementation of the modern concept of “unplanned loss minimization” and “zero accidents”. And one of the essential conditions here is healthy personnel. The plant has long been operating an efficient health management system. Chemical workers undergo regular health check-ups in the on-site first aid station using unique medical equipment.

“The set of measures aimed at preventing unsafe behaviours, unsafe conditions and risks has allowed the company to demonstrate a higher LTIFR than the country’s average LTIFR for the national chemical and petrochemical industries over the past three years. Thanks to our high-performance system for health management, the plant has not registered a single case of occupational disease in the past 15 years,” notes Vitaly Dmitruk. Togliattiazot plans to continue promoting its zero accident policy and a high risk management culture.