User-friendly Procedures at Boliden Odda
At Odda, guidelines and procedures for using a particular machine or carrying out a particular task were not always so easy to find. They may have been in a Word document or someone had printed that document and taped it to a wall. But there was no place with easy access where all procedures and guidelines were stored; until now.
Since the autumn of 2019, every operational department has appointed one dedicated operator to systemize and improve every working procedure as well as making them accessible and easy to use for everyone. Thereby, it is easy to take personal responsibility in daily operations and improve the predictability and reliability of how tasks are performed.
“The dedicated superusers worked together, creating a great environment for collaboration across the departments,” says Arne Opheim, Communication & NBW developer at Odda, and the person behind facilitating and coordinating the work.
In addition to describing how a job is carried out according to current standard, the system shows every operator what tools they will need for a particular task, what safety equipment is required and what to think about when carrying out the job.
“All working related procedures are fed into this system. When every document is easy to find and access, it clearly contributes to improved safety,” says Christina Steen, HR Manager. “We have started the work of making videos accompanying the procedures, showing how a specific process, equipment or critical work task should be performed according to the standard. It’s very easy to use and very clear,” she adds. It’s also easily accessible from a mobile device. This was vital for our colleagues working in the factory.”
Finn Bjørnar Berg is the main safety representative at Odda and is looking forward to seeing the system implemented across the smelter. “It is extremely important that everyone works safely. Our next step is to fully implement it on an operator level”, he says.
Organizing the working guidelines and procedures in one central database is set to streamline and improve working operations across the smelter. The next phase will be to identify how the system should be maintained and further developed as a part of Odda’s daily work routines.