“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
— Thomas Edison
You can have perfect recruiting, a cool onboarding system, and even a corporate party with a DJ, but if your occupational safety is failing, all of this can end in a fine, a lawsuit, or even criminal liability for the manager.
As they say: “Safety is not about helmets on a shelf, but helmets on the head.”
And we would add: it’s not just about the helmet, but about a systematic approach where HR, managers, and occupational safety engineers work together, not each in their own “kingdom.”
At RACIO., we have been helping companies all over Ukraine set up effective occupational safety management systems for over 15 years. During this time, we have seen both classic mistakes and their consequences.
Therefore, we propose to break down the five most common mistakes that occur year after year in various companies—from small offices to manufacturing giants.
Mistake 1 – “The main thing is to have the position filled.”
Usually, an occupational safety engineer is hired just to have everything “according to the law” in the staffing table. Most often, this is a person whom no one in the company has seen, from whom no one has heard anything, and, of course, few understand what they do. Another case is when someone is “voluntarily-compulsorily” appointed to this position.
When an accident occurs in the company or inspecting authorities arrive, it is then that the management panics and remembers that same occupational safety engineer.
In the best-case scenario, they show up—and it turns out that this “engineer” has no idea what equipment is operating at the enterprise, what work the employees perform, whether they have a license and training, or whether anyone has undergone medical examinations at all.
Unfortunately, in 90% of cases, when the inspecting authorities “knock on the door,” it is already too late to fix or start anything.
What to do?
Measure by results, not by a “check mark”:
First and most importantly—hire not “to fill a vacancy,” but look for a truly qualified specialist.
Demand from your engineer a strategy for their work for the year with defined measures and outlined goals. This will allow you, as an employer, to control what exactly is happening in the field of occupational safety, and the engineer to have a reference point in their daily affairs.
Use KPIs or OKRs to track performance. Not only to punish but also to reward the employee. Here are a few indicators that can be used: the number of briefings conducted, audits, and implemented safety solutions.
If you need an experienced specialist or want to outsource these functions, we recommend considering the Occupational Safety Outsourcing service.
Mistake 2 – Looks good on paper, but in reality…
How exactly do you evaluate a candidate for the post of an occupational safety engineer during hiring?
In our practice, there was a candidate for an engineer position whose resume looked so convincing that he could have been hired without an interview.
But we conducted a technical interview and found out: all he knows is the procedure for conducting briefings and the phrase “every line of the instruction is written in someone’s blood.”
When asked how to register loaders, obtain declarations, or conduct medical examinations—silence. This is not an isolated case.
Such “specialists” are in every second resume. In any other company, such a job seeker could be hired “at the door”—but we check knowledge, and this saved us from further serious consequences.
What to do?
Verify qualifications at the selection stage. The interview should be conducted not only by HR but also by a relevant expert.
You can read about how to evaluate a candidate for the position of an occupational safety engineer in our article.
Mistake 3 – Irrational Expenses
The law states that expenditures on occupational safety must be at least 0.5% of the payroll fund for the previous year.
The question is how to spend this budget rationally. Of course, you can buy helmets with all the money, and that will also be an expense.
But do you need several hundred helmets that no one wears?
A classic example in this area: training on the safe performance of work with display screen equipment conducted through a training center.
A company with 150 office workers ordered training at a training center on “safe computer use.”
The cost was 900 UAH × 150 = 135,000 UAH.
And this is only one type of training, and there is also a general course on occupational safety, which inspectors from the State Labor Service love to impose on the entire company staff.
Such expenses do not seem rational. Especially since such training can be conducted by the company’s own occupational safety service, or you can order a group training on ergonomics and office safety for all employees at once.
What to do?
The Cabinet of Ministers’ resolution on occupational safety is so concise that it resembles a hint rather than a document.
So, instead of reading between the lines, it is better to conduct third-party audits, assess risks, and build a real synergy between occupational safety and production.
Mistake 4 – Incorrect Workplace Attestation (ARM)
Most often, this is either a complete lack of ARM or, conversely, it is conducted by the wrong people and in the wrong way.
A common case: an accountant has +4 calendar days of vacation for working at a computer, while a welder has no benefits at all.
A separate tragic case is a person of pre-pension age who loses the right to early retirement due to the absence of attestation.
Accordingly, errors in conducting ARM are serious issues not only from the employees’ side but also during inspections by the controlling bodies of the Tax Service, the Pension Fund, or the State Labor Service.
What to do?
Read the materials – what exactly to pay attention to? Especially the “working conditions map” and “workplace assessment protocols.” This document contains all the answers to the questions of who gets what and how much.
Conduct a real attestation, not a paper one.
Involve not only a laboratory that will take measurements but also specialists who can legally support the entire process from determining the places to finalizing the attestation results (accountant, HR, OSH engineer).
We have a real case where a correctly conducted workplace attestation saved a company from unnecessary expenses and even criminal liability. The company received a letter about an inspection from the State Labor Service. The reason was a complaint from a former employee, let’s call her “A.” Ms. “A” had resigned more than nine months prior, after working for 3 years as a storekeeper. In her appeal, she claimed that she had developed a respiratory disease specifically because of her work at the enterprise. But according to the attestation results, her working conditions were defined as “permissible,” and she had been informed of them.
This became a key argument in resolving the conflict: the company proved that the former employee’s illness was not related to production.
Thus, a conducted ARM is not a formality, but a legal defense that can protect a business from fines, reputational losses, and even criminal liability at the right moment.
We described how to conduct a workplace attestation step-by-step in our article.
Mistake 5 – The Wrong Kind of Inspection
Forklifts are now indispensable equipment used in almost every enterprise that has a warehouse.
It is a very common case when, during an accident investigation or an inspection, it turns out that no technical inspection of this equipment has been carried out for years.
And the reason is actually simple. Managers often confuse technical maintenance (oil change, minor repairs) with technical inspection.
That is, they confuse the two types of “TO” (technical observation vs. technical servicing). The inspection involves engaging an expert from an expert-technical center to establish compliance with the requirements of Ukrainian legislation (“Rules of labor protection during the operation of loaders,” NPAOP 0.00-1.80-18). It is the technical inspection that confirms the safety of using the forklift.
When it is not carried out for years, the company is actually breaking the law and endangering its employees.
The consequences of such negligence can cost a life. The same stories happen with receivers, compressors, and generators.
What to do?
Appoint a person responsible for the technical condition of the equipment.
Monitor the schedule of technical inspections.
Build an occupational safety service that does not punish but improves processes.
So that phrases like “bypass the sensor” or “remove the cover” disappear as such.
Mistake 6 – Lack of Communication
In many companies, the head of the warehouse or production focuses exclusively on fulfilling the production plan, HR focuses on recruiting and dismissing personnel, and the occupational safety service works separately in its own sphere.
As a result, instead of synergy between these three key areas, disunity arises, which reduces efficiency and creates risks for employee safety.
Case: A production facility bought a new machine. HR has already hired an employee for it, but the engineer doesn’t even know about it yet.
As a result, briefings, medical examinations, and training are conducted late or not at all. Or, HR hired a driver without a prior medical examination. A week later, the driver caused a traffic accident. It turned out that he had health problems that would have been detected during the examination, but…
And there are many such examples, from loaders with a history of epileptic seizures to industrial climbers with 30% vision.
With a properly configured adaptation and onboarding process, such people would not have ended up in conditions dangerous for them.
For ethical reasons, we will not disclose the details of these stories.
What to do?
- Include occupational safety in the onboarding process.
- Create a joint checklist for HR + engineer: medical examinations, briefings, training, documents.
- Keep a control log or an electronic system for tracking the onboarding process.
Download an example of such an onboarding for an employee in occupational and fire safety upon hiring
We recommend using this as a basis for your enterprise. The checklist can be made on your own or you can order the development of occupational safety documentation — we will help adapt all forms, logs, and instructions to the specifics of your company.
If you have found at least 2 mistakes from this list in your enterprise, your occupational safety system is most likely not working.
Contact us, we definitely have a rational solution for you.
Our team will not only set up your occupational safety but will also conduct an audit of other related processes.
