At a conference in Kuzbass, SUEK-Krasnoyarsk coal miners presented their experience in digitalizing production

A scientific and practical conference “Safety Culture – a Driver of Sustainable Development” was held in Kuzbass, which brought together more than 250 participants from 19 regions of Russia, including representatives of state supervisory authorities, regional authorities and managers of leading coal mining enterprises.

The key topic of discussion was improving the industrial safety management system in the context of digital transformation of the industry.

Opening the event, SUEK General Director Alexander Redkin outlined the Company’s strategic vector: “Our goal is accident-free production and trouble-free operation. Today, all our enterprises are equipped with modern equipment that allows mining operations to be carried out as safely as possible; all production processes are monitored around the clock. But no less important is the development of a culture of safe behavior – one of the key factors in preventing occupational injuries and preserving the life and health of workers.”

In development of this topic, as part of the business program, SUEK-Krasnoyarsk coal miners shared their experience in creating and developing a multifunctional safety system at open-pit mines in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The key testing ground for developing advanced solutions was the Borodino open-pit mine named after M. I. Shchadov, the flagship of the Russian coal industry, where up to 25 million tons of coal are mined annually. It became a pilot site for the introduction of modern personnel positioning technologies. Today, every worker who goes to open-pit mining takes a personal tracker with him.

“The main task of these mobile devices is to identify the location of a worker or object within a controlled area,” says Yuri Shtelma, director of industrial safety at SUEK-Krasnoyarsk JSC. “This system allows you to quickly notify or warn personnel in emergency situations.”

Of particular interest to the conference participants was the presentation of the ANTI-CRASH function, which integrates personnel tags and stationary positioning systems with radars on mining transport equipment. The system notifies drivers and operators in real time about the presence of a person near the equipment, which minimizes the risk of accidents in poor visibility conditions. Today, there are more than 200 pieces of equipment and over 1,000 employees in the system’s control zone at the Borodino open-pit mine.

Commenting on the experience of implementing digital solutions, General Director of JSC SUEK-Krasnoyarsk Evgeny Evtushenko noted:

“We have come a long way from complying with regulatory requirements to creating a unified digital security ecosystem, where the main value of the Company remains the person, his health and safety. The most difficult task is not to implement the equipment, but to ensure that each employee perceives the system as his personal protector, and not as a controller. Our experience shows that a culture of safety begins with an understanding of the value of one’s own life, and digital tools are reliable assistants here.”

Digital solutions are only part of the comprehensive work that the Company carries out on an ongoing basis. The industrial safety and labor protection management system at SUEK-Krasnoyarsk includes a whole range of interrelated areas. These include behavioral safety audits, the Simple Truths program, development of a feedback system, constant modernization of the production base and provision of employees with high-quality personal protective equipment that takes into account the specifics of specific workplaces.

The company’s high level of work in the field of labor protection has received official recognition more than once. Last year, JSC SUEK-Krasnoyarsk took second place in the city competition for the best organization of work in the field of social partnership and labor protection among Krasnoyarsk enterprises in the Mining category. The Company's branches in Borodino, Nazarovo and Sharypovo have repeatedly become prize-winners and winners of city and regional competitions.

Following the conference, coal miners formulated proposals for further improvement of industry safety requirements and replication of the most effective digital solutions.