Evaluation of the Impact of a Human Factor on Industrial Safety of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy Enterprises

Non-ferrous metallurgy is one of the key industries of the Russian Federation. The attributed specifics and complexities can negatively affect employees' physiological and psychological condition, thus increasing the risk of accidents and injuries. The main specific features and complexities of non-ferrous metallurgy plants have been considered. Based on the statistical data for the last 5-year period, causes of fatalities at metallurgic plants have been detected, with a human factor as one of the primary causes. The condition of an employee of a metallurgic production is affected by many factors, i.e., stresses, physical overstrain, fatigue, personal problems, as well as his/her competencies such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, and personal qualities. It is critical to verify the level of competencies of employees via internal and external certifications that ensures admission to work at a hazardous production facility. The government of the Russian Federation has approved the categories of employees liable to obtain additional professional education and undergo the certification by committees of various levels once in 5 years. It cannot be stated, however, whether in such a case the established level of competencies (or their absence) of employees is reliable or not. The plants should motivate employees to work safely and conduct regular trainings for personnel in order to reduce the negative impact of the human factor. This can be also facilitated by the development and implementation of in-house measures considering the specifics of productions in the field of the safety audit. In the future, the modernization of the existing algorithm of generating questions, expanding the question bank during the certification of employees, and conducting online exams are possible, which can become one of the promising and efficient areas. The totality of options proposed will allow reducing the number of potential errors occurring due to the human factor, thus reducing the number of accidents and injuries at work.