Occupational Health and Safety

Occupational safety

Vladimir Mikhailov Deputy Director General for Technical Affairs — Chief Engineer

Preserving the life and health of employees is the primary goal of the Company’s occupational health and safety policy. The cornerstones of occupational safety at Rosseti Kuban JSC are preventing hazards and minimising harm to employees’ health.

The Regulations on the Occupational Safety Management System (OSMS) are in force at all management levels in the Company. This document was put in place in order to improve the efficiency of the OHSMS, eliminate and/or minimise occupational risks in the field of labour protection and manage these risks, work out measures aimed at creating safe working conditions, preventing occupational injuries and occupational diseases, and monitor compliance with labour protection requirements.

The current version of the Regulations on the OSMS complies with the requirements of the current Russian legislation and the interstate standards in the field of occupational safety, namely:

• Labour Code of the Russian Federation
• Order of the Ministry of Labour of the Russian Federation No. 776n dated 29 October 2021 on approval of the model regulations on the health and safety management system
• GOST R 12.0.007‑2009 Occupational Safety Standards System. Labour protection management system in organization. General Requirements on Development, Implementation, Audit and Improvement and GOST R ISO 9000‑2015 Quality Management Systems. Fundamentals and vocabulary
• Interstate standards GOST 12.0.230‑2007 Occupational Safety Standards System. Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems. General Requirements, GOST 12.0.002‑2014 Occupational Safety Standards System. Terms and Definitions, GOST 12.0.230.1‑2015 Occupational Safety Standards System. Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems. Guidance for Use of GOST 12.0.230‑2007 and GOST 12.0.230.2‑2015 Occupational Safety System Standards. Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems. Conformity Assessment. Requirements
• International standard ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems — Requirements with Guidance for Use.

The Regulations on the OSMS apply to all employees of the Company, at all workplaces, and in all subdivisions.

The Company’s main objectives in the field of occupational safety are as follows:

• To create a healthy and safe working environment
• To reduce occupational injuries and work‑related diseases
• To mitigate risks of accidents and incidents at hazardous production facilities
• To cushion the risks of road traffic accidents related to production activities
• To rule out workplaces with hazardous labour conditions
• To promote a high level of corporate safety culture

The management of the Company is in charge of upholding secure working conditions and labour safety, as well as their adherence to the established regulations. The Company fully complies with the requirements of Russian laws regarding the occupational safety obligations of the employer.

The Company identifies and prevents hazards in the course of the following activities:

• Assessment and management of occupational risks, with special attention paid to high‑risk jobs
• Special assessment of work environment
• Industrial control of work environment
• Prevention of accidents and elimination of their consequences
• Special‑purpose, comprehensive and operational inspections
• Use of instruments, devices, equipment and (or) complexes (systems) of instruments, devices, equipment (if available and feasible) providing remote video, audio or other recording of work processes, as well as ensuring storage of the obtained information for the purpose of control over work safety

Occupational risk management activities include:

• Analysis of the results of hazard identification and assessment of occupational risk levels, including assessment of the adequacy of existing risk management and control measures
• Development (if necessary) and implementation of additional (different from existing) measures to reduce occupational risks and/or new control measures
• Assessment of residual risk levels after implementation and adoption of additional measures to reduce their levels and/or new control measures
• Monitoring of the implementation of risk management measures at workplaces, as well as periodic analyses of the effectiveness of such measures

Activities to investigate workplace accidents include:

• Coordinating the reporting of accidents and occupational illnesses to the appropriate authorities and organisations
• Organising and ensuring a proper and timely investigation of an accident and occupational disease, minor injuries (microtraumas), as well as drawing up investigation materials in accordance with legal requirements

The management of the Company or its branches annually reviews and evaluates the achievement of occupational health and safety goals. Following the functional analysis of the OSMS in 2023, the effectiveness of the total corporate efforts of the Company is recognised as satisfactory.

During 2024, systematic work was carried out to improve occupational safety, prevent occupational accidents and improve working conditions:

• Occupational safety and health measures developed in accordance with the tentative list of measures to improve working conditions and occupational safety and to eliminate or reduce occupational risks or prevent their increase approved by Order No. 771n of the Ministry of Labour of the Russian Federation dated 29 October 2021.
• Measures were implemented under comprehensive programmes to reduce the risk of electric shock to Company personnel and third parties at the Company’s power grid facilities.
• Annual analysis of labour safety results was carried out. Tasks for the next year were set, a list of measures to improve labour conditions and safety, eliminate/reduce occupational risks, prevent injuries was worked out, and an action plan for the development and improvement of safety culture was drawn up.
• Quarterly video conference calls were held with the participation of directors, first deputy directors — chief engineers and heads of branch divisions.
• Monthly occupational health and safety days were held, allowing many employees to be involved in the process of self‑supervision and mutual supervision and increasing their knowledge and experience.
• Business games with the involvement of specialists in psychophysiological support of the reliability of professional activities of the Company’s branches were held on the functioning of the labour safety system and timely identification of potential threats and risks to the health and life of the Company’s employees. The Company’s Adygeyan Power Grids and Labinsk Power Grids branches carried out comprehensive inspections of compliance with the requirements of regulatory and technical documents, regulatory legal acts in the operation of electrical installations, compliance with the requirements for safe operation of hazardous industrial facilities and the Company’s organisational and administrative documents aimed at preventing occupational accidents and third‑party injuries.
• Heads of branches, business units and their deputies carried out unannounced inspections of workplaces to check the personnel’s compliance with occupational safety rules in organising and carrying out work in electrical installations.

In order to update documents and improve the Company’s integrated management system, and in line with the requirements of ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems — Requirements and Guidelines for Use, the following Company standards were approved in the reporting year:

• Health and safety hazards and risks in occupational health and safety
• Occupational health and safety planning
• Monitoring and measurement in occupational health and safety

The Company’s policy in the area of occupational health and safety and prevention of occupational injuries and occupational diseases is aimed at preserving the life and health of employees in the course of their labour activity, ensuring safe working conditions, and managing the risks of occupational injuries and occupational diseases.

The Company’s personnel procedure approved the list of high‑hazard jobs with separate requirements for work organisation and employee training. Information on safe work methods and techniques is communicated to employees as part of induction and on‑the‑job occupational health and safety briefings.

Employees who perform high‑risk jobs undergo mandatory training in safe work practices at specialised educational institutions.

The Company’s Executive Office and branches annually conduct industrial control over harmful and hazardous factors affecting employees and take sanitary and anti‑epidemiological (preventive) measures to ensure the safety of human health.

All divisions of the Company carry out special labour assessment aimed at identifying and reducing the level of exposure of employees to harmful and/or hazardous production factors.

In the reporting period, the Company’s branches and executive office carried out work to identify hazards and related consequences, assessing the significance of risks to prevent the Company’s employees from developing occupational diseases and health deterioration as a result of their professional activities. A number of documents were approved, such as:

• List (register) of hazards and hazardous events
• Register of acceptable and unacceptable risks
• Maps of hazards, hazardous events and risk assessments
• Plan of measures to eliminate, reduce or control risk levels (includes deadlines and officials responsible for the implementation of measures)

Only small and moderate risks were identified in the Company.

Accidents are investigated in strict compliance with the requirements of Chapter 36.1 of the Labour Code of the Russian Federation and the Regulations on the Specifics of Investigation of Industrial Accidents in Certain Industries and Organisations. In order to organise work to investigate the causes and circumstances of industrial accidents, as well as to comply with the investigation deadlines, the Company’s order approved the relevant standing commission.

Four occupational accidents were recorded in 2024, two of which were caused by road accidents involving third‑party drivers. There were no accidents caused by electric current and fatal industrial accidents in the reporting year. In 2023, there were two accidents, one of which was a fatal group accident while doing work in an electrical installation.

No work‑related diseases among the Company’s personnel were detected in 2024.

Five nondisabling work‑related minor injuries (micro‑traumas) were registered in 2024.

In order to eliminate the root causes of injuries and reduce the number of injuries, behavioural safety audits are conducted at all Company divisions. In addition, there is a unified helpline, which automatically receives voice and text (SMS) messages from staff. The most frequent reports to the helpline are about occupational safety issues or facts of coercion to violate rules, as well as suggestions to improve working conditions.

To ensure safe working conditions at workplaces and to prevent occupational and third‑party injuries, 11 training videos were made in the reporting period on the types of work performed. In addition, articles on occupational safety were published on the official web pages of the branches, and occupational safety review contests titled Best Production Unit, Best Crew Car and Best Crew were held. The winners of the review‑contest are awarded with valuable gifts, and the personnel who took the first place are granted a surcharge in the amount of 15% of the employee’s official salary (wage rate) for one year period.

The corporate newspaper Safe Labour has been published quarterly since 2022. A thematic telegram channel of the Company’s occupational health, safety and production control department was created, where you can read useful materials on ensuring safe working conditions.

Specialists in psychophysiological support of the reliability of professional activity conduct psychophysiological examination and individual interviews with participants of accidents. The purpose of such meetings is to discuss the circumstances of accidents that have occurred and to conduct a questionnaire survey of violators of occupational safety regulations. In addition to raising awareness of the human factor in workplace safety and identifying risk and risky behaviour, group trainings were held to practise a predetermined algorithm of consecutive activities. An anonymous staff questionnaire was run twice to assess the quality of the work carried out to implement the zero injuries concept and to obtain feedback from the staff.

In order to organise joint actions of the employer and employees to ensure occupational safety requirements, prevent occupational injuries, occupational diseases and preserve the health of employees, meetings of occupational safety committees were held in the executive office and branches of the Company. Decisions of the meetings were formalised in minutes and sent to the Company’s divisions for execution.

In order to prevent accidents related to falls from heights, specialists of the occupational health, safety, and industrial control department at all branches of Rosseti Kuban repeatedly held theoretical and practical training sessions on how to organise and perform safe work at heights.

Each team vehicle has the Disconnect, Check, and Ground checklist with a contact number of the helpline in conspicuous places.

In order to monitor the state of working conditions, means of protection, provide personnel with special clothing, footwear, sanitary conditions, prevent occupational injuries, improve industrial sanitation, enhance production culture, timely detect violations and deviations from the requirements of regulatory documents on labour safety, monthly Labour Safety Days were held in the Company’s business units. During the Labour Safety Day, highly qualified employees of the branch and the Company’s executive office held training sessions with the personnel of grid sections of power grid regions. The training sessions focused on the causes and circumstances of accidents that occurred in Rosseti’s power grid sector, as well as the causes of violations of operational and dispatch discipline requirements by personnel. Psychological tests, lectures, etc. were conducted, possible consequences and responsibility of personnel for violations of labour safety rules and regulations, including criminal responsibility, were discussed.

Material and non-material system of personnel motivation was put in place. The collective bargaining agreement provides for a special type of bonus for work without violation of the rules. In 2024, special bonuses are accrued to 306 employees in the working trades who have not violated the rules during their employment.

In addition, over 200 publications dedicated to such topics as ‘They are the ones to look up to for occupational safety’ and ‘Man of Labour’ were posted on the on the official webpages of the branches. The articles cover the best employees of the branch who work without violating the requirements of the rules.

The Company’s personnel at risk for health reasons, in addition to periodic medical examinations, are referred for additional medical examinations under the VHI.

Occupational health and safety costs in 2024 totalled RUB 435.54 million (up 3.0% year‑on‑year). Specific occupational health and safety costs per employee in 2024 were RUB 51,400. The unit cost of personal protective equipment per employee in 2024 was RUB 34,000, which is 8.7% higher than in 2023.

In accordance with the Labour Code of the Russian Federation, the financing of measures to improve labour conditions and occupational health and safety in the Company amounted to at least 0.2% of the costs of products (works, services). The actual amount of funding for these initiatives was 0.58% of this total.