The ‘Safe Workplace’ programme at Zaporizhstal is a tool for the systematic management of production‑related risks.
As part of this programme, workspaces are analysed, potential hazards are identified, and preventive measures are taken to eliminate them before they can lead to injuries or accidents. This involves not merely oversight, but the constant improvement of working conditions, taking into account actual production processes.
It is for this purpose that workplace audits are carried out regularly under the programme. In 2025, such inspections were carried out in all the plant’s workshops – more than 11,000 audits in total. HSE specialists, heads of business units, as well as directors of various areas were involved in this work. Such a group of participants makes it possible to assess risks comprehensively – from the standpoint of safety, process organisation and managerial decision‑making.
Based on the audit results, almost 17,000 corrective actions were developed over the course of the year. As of the end of 2025, all of them had been completed.
In 2025, the work carried out under the SWS programme was focused on three key areas: gas safety, working with moving and rotating machine parts, and working at height. For each of these areas, roadmaps were developed at the plant in accordance with the target safety‑risk management models, which are based not on formal requirements but on the actual conditions of production.
Andrii KUZMUK, Head of the Line Control Department:
"We conduct a detailed analysis of how the work is performed and where the risks arise. On the basis of this analysis and the target safety‑risk management models, we develop roadmaps and subsequently design measures that make it possible to minimise risks before they materialise. In 2025, as part of this work, an extensive set of additional protective measures was implemented: installing new and upgrading existing protective covers, additionally fitting cable rings for conveyor emergency‑stop systems, and implementing other engineering solutions to enhance safety.”
Risk Assessment in the Event of a Deviation from the Technological Process
A separate focus in 2025 was the assessment of risks associated with deviations from the technological process – during repair activities or the mitigation of emergency situations. Under such conditions, the likelihood of hazards invariably increases, while anticipating all factors in advance becomes considerably more difficult.
For this reason, under the ‘Safe Workplace’ programme, a planned assessment of these risks was carried out, and a number of preventive measures were implemented – from developing action algorithms to improving existing protective equipment. In particular, protective screens and removable barriers were installed, and mobile guardrails were procured, which can be rapidly deployed directly at the work site.
The work under the ‘Safe Workplace’ programme will continue. The analysis of the 2025 results has already formed the basis for planning the next steps.
