In order to fulfill the requirements of the curriculum for the practical training of first-level (bachelor’s) degree students, our graduate students had their internship in May. The graduation practice was organized and conducted at the enterprises of Kharkiv, Chernivtsi and Kharkiv region such as TECHNOKOM LLC, head of the internship, head of the labor and environmental protection department Kateryna SHEVCHYK; JSC Ukrainian Power Machines, head of the internship, head of the labor protection and safety department Irina BOCHAROVA; Kharkiv Machine-Building Plant FED LLC, Head of Practice, Acting Deputy Director for Human Resources and Social Affairs Sofia Sokolnikova, Kharkiv Region: Zmiiv, REMDES LLC, Head of Practice, Deputy Director Serhiy Cherkashyn and Eskhar Village, Teploelektrocentral Branch of DV Oil and Gas Production Company, Head of Practice, Head of Labor Protection Department Yevhen Voskoboinyk and Chernivtsi, Private Enterprise FIRM PHOENIX VT, Director Bohdan Lishchuk.
During the four weeks of the internship, the students were able to familiarize themselves with the activities of the structural units of the occupational safety and health departments of the respective enterprises, key regulatory documents, features and functional capabilities of this service. The participants studied the procedure for developing occupational safety and health instructions, the mechanism for investigating accidents at work, preparing questions for instructions to the company, methods of briefings, training, and organizing safe working conditions at high-risk workplaces. Particular attention is paid to collective and individual protective equipment, as well as to the analysis of the causes of occupational injuries and occupational diseases in this specialty.
Our future graduate Elvira Akimova did her internship as a labor protection specialist at Technocom LLC, a part of Nestlé.
Particular attention was paid to analyzing the working conditions at the workplace of an adjuster performing high-risk work. As part of the internship, the structure of the labor and environmental protection department was studied, the current regulatory legal acts in the field of labor protection used at this enterprise were analyzed, and the main production risks at the workplace under study and the means of their reduction were identified.
Maksym Boichenko did his internship in the labor protection department at the Teploelektrocentral branch of DV OIL & GAS PRODUCTION COMPANY as a trainee labor protection specialist. The main activity of the plant is electricity and heat generation, as well as district heating for industrial and residential consumers in Chuhuiv district and surrounding areas. According to the classification of economic activities, the main activities of Heat and power center-2 include electricity generation, electricity distribution, as well as hot water and air conditioning. The technical base of the enterprise includes generating systems that use thermal technologies to ensure a stable supply of energy resources.
His internship at this company allowed Maksym to acquire practical and theoretical skills as an occupational safety and health engineer, to participate in introductory briefings for new employees, and occupational safety examinations for employees performing high-risk work.
As a result of his research, he was able to familiarize himself with a number of work areas and study in detail the workplace of a boiler operator in the boiler and turbine shop, which made it possible not only to assess the actual conditions of the boiler operator’s workplace, but also to propose specific safety measures that can be applied at the enterprise to reduce the risks of injuries and occupational diseases.
Yulia Denysenko did her internship at the Occupational Safety and Health Department of Ukrainian Power Machines JSC, which is one of the world’s largest design and manufacturing companies and is included in the list of companies of strategic importance to the economy and security of Ukraine. Production is carried out in a closed cycle: from design and development and research to manufacturing, assembly, testing of equipment and shipment. One of Yulia’s main tasks is to study the activities of some employees whose work is accompanied by an increased level of occupational risk.
Accordingly, she analyzed the working conditions of a metal structure welder to identify the main hazardous and harmful production factors that could pose a threat to the life and health of employees. A quantitative and qualitative risk assessment was carried out, which demonstrated the presence of both acceptable and unacceptable risks that require an urgent response from the occupational health and safety service. The ways to reduce the degree of danger were suggested to be the introduction of modern collective and individual protection equipment, improvement of occupational safety and health instructions, regular preventive medical examinations, organization of a safe technological process and constant monitoring of working conditions.
Based on the results of the internship, all students defended their reports both at enterprises and at the department and received high marks.
I would like to thank the company internship supervisors for their high level of organization and practical assistance to our future graduates, which allowed them not only to consolidate their theoretical knowledge but also to acquire the practical skills necessary for their future professional activities. As a result of their internships, all graduates were offered employment as occupational health and safety specialists at their companies.
Associate professor of the department of OandES, Oleksandr YANCHYK