The daily threats posed by the war are shaping training plans at Metinvest’s facilities. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, training sessions on dealing with the aftermath of hostilities and managing risks during wartime have been added to the list of regular drills at the Kryvyi Rih mining and processing plants. The latest drill took place at Northern Iron Ore. Staff from the Railway Transport Department (RTD) and representatives of the relevant services practised procedures in the event of a potential total power cut, a fire, an employee injury and the discovery of UAV debris.
The drill took place on the premises of one of the plant’s RTD stations. Its aim was to test the staff’s readiness to respond in the event of an emergency, as well as the coordination between operational subdivisions and services. A total of 26 people took part in the drill, including 15 RTD employees, along with representatives from the security company, the paramilitary fire brigade, and the plant’s medical service and dispatching department.
According to the scenario, following the ‘air raid’ alarm, staff ceased work and moved to a shelter. Shortly afterwards, falling debris from airborne weapons was detected near the wagon maintenance building. After the all-clear signal, participants continued the drill under several scenarios – an employee sustaining an injury, a simulated fire and the discovery of a suspect object.
According to the scenario, an assistant driver of a traction unit sustained a shrapnel wound to his leg caused by flying debris from airborne weapons. The driver, who was standing nearby, notified the dispatcher and provided first aid to the injured employee. A first-aid team was dispatched to the employee, and a medical team was called to the scene. They provided emergency care, stabilised the injured employee’s condition and transported him to a medical facility.
Another scenario involved a simulated fire near the railway station’s mechanical workshops. A shop representative noticed a column of smoke and reported the fire. The fire response team began to bring the fire under control, whilst simultaneously coordinating with the fire brigade. The paramilitary fire brigade, together with the plant’s staff, extinguished the simulated fire. This stage made it possible to test not only the speed of the initial response, but also the coordination between the production team and the professional fire brigade.
The fourth scenario involved the discovery of an object resembling a drone fragment. Staff did not approach the find, notified the dispatching department and management, restricted access to the danger zone and passed on the information to the emergency services.
Following the practical drills, members of the emergency response headquarters held a post-activity discussion. Participants analysed the accuracy and sequence of actions, the speed of information transfer, coordination between subdivisions, and the fulfilment of assigned tasks. Based on the results of the discussion, areas requiring corrective action will be identified.
"Such drills provide an opportunity to examine the safety system not just in theory, but in practice and as a whole. It is important that every employee knows their procedure, but that alone is not enough. It is also necessary to check how production subdivisions, dispatching departments, medical and fire-fighting teams interact with one another, how the headquarters operates, and how quickly managers receive the information they need to make decisions. During this drill, we specifically practised handling several incidents simultaneously. It was important for us to see the full picture: from the moment information about an incident is received to the mitigation of its consequences and the resumption of the production process. Such practical tests allow us to identify the strengths of the safety system and determine what still needs to be improved," said Dmytro CHYRVA, HSE Director at Metinvest’s Integrated Iron Ore.
