For more than four years, the INTEGRATED GOK of Metinvest has been operating in the conditions of military aggression of the neighbouring country, which adds risks and deadly factors. Today, occupational health and safety specialists have a great responsibility. And it consists not only in the prevention of accidents, occupational diseases or accidents, but also in training teams in algorithms of actions to eliminate the consequences of emergencies caused by the war.
The INTEGRATED GOK of Metinvest consists of three mining and processing plants in Kryvyi Rih, where 10.5 thousand people work. With the beginning of russia's full-scale armed aggression, workers lost the opportunity to work in safe conditions, but enterprises are working at their maximum to create conditions to protect employees from the threats of war. The lion's share of this work falls on the Directorate for Labor Protection, Industrial Safety and Ecology, which has up to 50 specialists in three GOKs.
In 2022, a new emphasis appeared in the work of the service – preserving the life and health of employees during the war, providing staff with shelters, developing an algorithm for employees' actions during air raids, shelling and other situations of a military nature. First of all, the specialists of the service recall, it was necessary to develop a procedure for notifying employees, to check the number and performance of technical means of warning: sirens, radio and telephone communications.
A lot of work has been done to restore the full functioning of shelters located in the structural divisions of the plants. It was necessary to ensure 24-hour continuous operation and the availability of survival equipment in the shelters. For this purpose, food and water supplies were created, heat and water supply and ventilation were restored. Also, instructions were drawn up for workers on how to respond to air alarms, what route to take to the shelter, how to behave in it and keep in touch with the dispatcher and management.
The specifics of labour protection training also changed, especially when enterprises and workers began to feel the consequences of hostilities: shelling, blackouts, direct threats to human life and health, and risks of equipment damage. Today, employees take training, which is systematically conducted in departments, and comprehensive quarterly training sessions chaired by the General Director, with great seriousness and responsibility. They practice actions during a complete blackout, when they must be able to use individual lamps, clearly know the place where employees gather and perform emergency shutdowns of equipment to prevent man-made hazards.
In 2024, fire fighting units and first aid units were created at all Ukrainian enterprises of the company. Groups of volunteers underwent special training to be able to quickly and correctly provide assistance or to extinguish fires before the arrival of special services. So far, practical experience proves that the decision to create such structures was timely, because the actions of units in emergency situations show their effectiveness.
– Both before the war and now, the occupational health and safety service focuses on identifying potential risks. It is extremely important for us to know how conscious employees are about risks, are able to see and analyse them, and use tools to eliminate them. To do this, we teach people not only theoretically, but also practically. It is very important for us to involve employees in the implementation of labour protection requirements and responsibility for their personal safety," said Yuriy ROVINSKY, Director for Labour Protection, Industrial Safety and Ecology of the INTEGRATED GOK of Metinvest.
