It took 26-year-old Oleh Isenko eight years to go from a charge feeder to a metallurgical giant's sinter shop foreman and the winner of Metinvest Group's highest corporate award.
"When I got a job at the plant, I did not expect that this job would fascinate me so much. I was lucky to have people by my side – colleagues, managers who saw potential in me, supported me, and guided me. It was thanks to them that I decided to get a higher education, I thought not only about professional growth – but also about career heights. And for this I am sincerely grateful to them," the specialist shares.
Oleh understands the intricacies of the production of high-quality agglomerate for blast furnaces like no one else. His approach to work is a combination of a deep understanding of technology and attention to detail. He is constantly looking for ways to improve processes and optimize costs, increase efficiency without losing quality.
Thus, a number of technical solutions were implemented in the shop, in the development of which Oleh participated. For example, the use of used rolls of rolling mills for coke crushers made it possible to save about USD 9 ths a year. And the conversion of pallet cars to another type of grate reduced the cost of agglomerate production.
In his work, Oleh pays special attention to the safety of the production process: in the sinter shop, it is he who is responsible for assessing risks and developing measures within the framework of the Safe Workspace program. He has introduced more than 100 measures to improve the safety of production processes.
"Many changes can be implemented precisely through the revision of the usual processes established for decades, the most difficult thing here is to abandon standard approaches in favour of new, fresh ideas. It is interesting to improve, change old algorithms of work to new, fresh, effective ones. It is even more pleasant to see the result of this work, real savings of resources. Now, together with my colleagues, we are also working on new ideas, testing different approaches, and diving deeper into technology," says Oleh ISENKO.
Oleh is not only a good specialist, but also a reliable colleague. He is always ready to help - both at work and outside it. Despite his rather young age, the promising specialist is already entrusted with teaching young people: He has already become a mentor for seven young specialists, motivated them to grow professionally, to master related professions. Today, these employees are undergoing internships to perform duties in managerial positions – and this is the best confirmation of what a significant contribution Oleh made with his support at the start of their journey.
Immersion in work does not prevent Oleh from showing his civic position. The guy supports the mobilized employees of the plant and takes care of veterans who return to work after service: he helps them adapt, to feel again part of the team that was waiting for the return of "their own people".
"Oleh is ambitious, responsible, proactive. And what is important is that he is not afraid of work. He showed himself from the first days: he is attentive to detail, quick-witted, his self-discipline is fail-safe. He is demanding first of all for himself – and only then for others. It is enough for him to explain the task – and you can be sure that everything will be done in the best possible way: efficiently and quickly. This is a reliable person who can really be relied on," says Oleh's manager, Deputy Head of Sinter Shop for Production Dmytro KIREEV.
By the way, the specialist became the youngest winner of the Metinvest Gold Star for the entire existence of the award. As Oleh himself admits, this adds even more responsibility – not to let down the team, managers and the company. Therefore, he is determined to work even harder to prove: the main thing is not age, but attitude to business.
"The Gold Star is a considerable achievement and recognition of my results, but definitely not the limit. This is not just a reward, it is an incentive. It confirms that I did everything for a reason, and if I continue to move in the same direction, I will have even more ahead. Usually, such an honorary award is received by older people who have devoted 10-20-30 years to work at the plant. It's nice that it was me who was rewarded. I will try to hold the bar high!" Oleh adds.
