Ensuring occupational safety and striving for “zero injuries” is an integral part of our strategy. Given the nature of our activities and work at production facilities within the Fund’s Group, there is potential risk to individuals, leading to disability, asset loss, decreased production efficiency, financial losses, and potential harm to the Fund’s reputation. In this regard, the year 2022 was designated as “Year of Occupational Health and Safety” within the Fund’s group of companies.
To achieve our strategic goal, we pay special attention to maintaining an effective occupational safety management system in accordance with the international standard ISO 45001 “Occupational Health and Safety Management System”, which applies to all employees of the Fund Group. Within the framework of this system, we follow the requirements of the national legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of industrial, fire safety and labor protection, as well as introduce the best industry-wide practices to ensure occupational safety. We carry out our activities in accordance with the Occupational Safety Policy, the Corporate Standard for Occupational Safety Management, which apply to portfolio companies, their subsidiaries and affiliates, as well as service providers. GRI 403-1, GRI 403-8, GRI 3-3
At the same time, companies themselves ensure the implementation and certification of health and safety management systems and ensure their compliance with the requirements of the above documents. The improvement of systems is carried out on a continuous basis through the development or updating of individual procedures in the relevant areas of industrial safety, development of an action plan to improve the efficiency of the industrial safety system, etc.
The top management of the Fund Group plays an important role in ensuring occupational safety. It is a driver of safe behavior and demonstrates commitment and involvement in industrial safety issues. In 2022, the Board of Directors began to pay even more attention to monitoring the health and safety of employees. Reports on industrial safety were considered at meetings of the Board of Directors. The monitoring of cases of Covid-19 infection continued regardless of the stabilization of the situation in the country.
The Fund has been successfully operating a dialogue platform for discussing problematic issues, exchanging experience, as well as considering strategic initiatives and ideas in the field of industrial safety for three years – the HSE Committee under the Management Board of the Fund. This Committee consists of responsible representatives of the CEO-1 level of 13 of the largest portfolio companies. The main purpose of the Committee is to develop recommendations for the Fund’s Management Board and the Fund’s representatives on the Boards of Directors, to ensure coordination and control over the implementation of portfolio companies’ activities to improve the efficiency of the corporate management system in the field of industrial safety. GRI 403-4 GRI 2-24
In 2022, 5 meetings of the Committee on Labor Protection, Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection were held. The work was focused on the following areas:
- monitoring of progress and results of activities in the field of industrial safety;
- review of the results of accident investigations and measures taken;
- development of new and improvement of existing regulatory documents and processes (including a number of digitalization solutions) in the field of industrial safety.
Industrial safety services have been established in large portfolio companies. We are implementing direct administrative accountability of the industrial safety function in each portfolio company to the first head. Thus, in JSC NC QazaqGaz in 2022, the function of industrial safety was separated from the production unit and an independent service was formed, subordinate to the CEO of the Company. On average, there are 134 employees per 1 employee of industrial safety in the Fund group. GRI 403-3
We use a risk-based approach in ensuring occupational safety. On a regular basis during the reporting year, audits of the state of workplaces were conducted at various levels of management. The number of internal audits conducted for compliance with the requirements in the field of industrial safety in 2022 reached 25 641 audits (19 073 audits in 2021). At the same time, 121 thousand of 126 thousand identified inconsistencies were eliminated. For the remaining violations, longer periods of elimination have been established. GRI 403-2
Working without accidents and incidents at work in a group of companies depends not only on the purposeful actions of employees, but also on the employees of contracting organizations. The requirements imposed on contractors for strict compliance with corporate regulations and rules on occupational safety and health is an integral part of an effective management system in the field of industrial safety of the Fund. The requirements for employees of contracting organizations, including in terms of their qualifications and competence, are the same as for our employees. These requirements are part of contracts with public organizations. The Fund and portfolio companies assess their compliance during on-site audits based on the actual assessment of contractors for compliance with industrial safety requirements.
Great support to workers on the ground is provided by 178 trade union organizations. In order to preserve the life and health of workers in the workplace, together with trade unions, measures are envisaged to improve working conditions, prevent occupational injuries and occupational diseases, and implement internal and public control. GRI 403-7, GRI 403-10
We provide annually financing for measures to prevent accidents, improve sanitary and living conditions for employees, improve the health of employees, purchase personal protective equipment, dry cleaning and washing of workwear, conduct training and promotion of occupational safety issues. In 2022, KZT126 billion was spent for these purposes (KZT99.8 billion in 2021).
In order to motivate portfolio companies to improve the state of industrial safety, according to the results of 2022, the practice of awarding the annual nomination of the Chief Executive Officer of the Fund for achieving results in the field of industrial safety was introduced for the first time. Thus, according to the results of the evaluation, the nominee for the first place was determined by Kazakhtelecom JSC, which was awarded with a Certificate of Honor by the CEO of the Fund. GRI 403-7
Key results of 2022
Together with our portfolio companies, we have carried out systematic work aimed at improving occupational safety management systems and reducing the level of injuries in the following areas:
1) increase leadership and commitment of managers. Kazakhtelecom JSC, KEGOC JSC, JSC NC QazaqGaz, Samruk-Kazyna Ondeu LLP, by analogy with the Fund, held specialized Forums on industrial safety for the first time. At these events, the first heads, heads of subsidiaries and affiliated organizations and structural divisions assumed obligations for industrial safety.
In addition, CEO-1 heads will now have to carry out on-site inspections of production sites at least once every 2 months. In total, the heads of companies at the CEO-1 level conducted 43 inspections in the reporting year.
2) increasing the level of safety culture, changing awareness and involvement of employees in industrial safety issues. In 2022, proactive injury prevention tools were actively introduced, such as registration of dangerous conditions, dangerous actions, potentially dangerous incidents (Near Miss), conducting Behavioral safety observations, implementing the right of every employee to suspend unsafe types of work. In 2022, 136 360 Behavioral Safety observations were conducted, 2 040 unsafe types of work were suspended (1 797 in 2021), which indicates a growing level of safe work culture. GRI 403-2
3) exchange of experience, both within the Fund Group and with leading companies in the industries. The heads and employees of industrial safety services visited and got acquainted with the approaches to work in such large organizations as Tengizchevroil, (NCOC) North Caspian Operating Company, (KPO B.V.) Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V.
The Kazpost JSC employees, as part of the exchange of experience in ensuring transport security, visited “Trade and Transport Company” LLP, employees of ALeS of Samruk-Energy JSC got acquainted with the procedure for ensuring electrical safety at the power complex of SKZ-U LLP and SKZ-U LLP visited GRES-1 with a return visit.
4) development of employee competencies. In 2022, 210 406 or 81 % of employees were trained within the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of labor protection, industrial and fire safety, 62 114 or 24 % of employees were trained in courses that go beyond the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Also, 244 employees were trained at the NEBOSH courses, 817 employees were trained at the IOSH courses, and
3 069 employees were trained in “defensive driving”.
In addition, we have developed our own corporate training course “Occupational Safety Culture”, which has been approved by the Institute for Safety and Health in the UK and plans to train 100 % of production personnel on this course. GRI 403-5
5) digitalization of processes. The SAP system has started reporting on incidents and leading indicators.
6) emergency prevention. The practice of conducting joint exercises to eliminate conditional accidents at hazardous production facilities has been introduced. Thus, on the basis of the Aktau IPS of Mangystau Oil Pipeline Management, a crisis management team exercise was held on the topic “Fire in the tank farm”.
7) conducting cross-audits. In total, the Fund, together with company experts, conducted audits in 18 organizations of the Fund, during which more than 600 inconsistencies were identified, potentially being prerequisites for accidents. GRI 403-2
The result of the activity was a decrease in the total number of the injured of industrial accidents by 16 % compared to 2021 (from 133 to 111 people). All employees of the Fund’s Group were included in the assessment of occupational injuries. GRI 403-9
The LTIFR coefficient was 0.16, showing a decrease of 27 % compared to 2021.
The rate of severe injuries associated with the Fund’s production activities began to be calculated from 2022 and amounted to 0.15.
Unfortunately, there were 12 fatal accidents in 2022 (14 cases in 2021): in JSC NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy – 5, Samruk-Energy JSC – 4, JSC NC KazMunayGas - 1, KEGOC JSC – 1, JSC NAC Kazatomprom - 1.
An important aspect is the analysis and investigation of incidents occurring in the workplace, and taking measures to prevent their recurrence in the future. The analysis is carried out on each case, newsletters are sent out with a brief description of the circumstances, reasons and corrective measures taken in order to prevent their repetition in other companies. GRI 403-7
55 % of all traumatic cases of severe degree fall into three categories of accidents: falling; tripping and slipping; exposure to moving, flying, rotating objects and accidents.
Most of the accidents with a severe degree occurred with the people aged 36 to 50 years. Almost a third of the injured had work experience from 11 to 20 years. This indicates that over time, employees with long experience have a sense of self-confidence and lack of concentration when doing work. In this regard, our activities for 2023 will be aimed, among other things, at solving this problem. GRI 403-9