Despite the constantly growing level of mechanization and automation of labor in industry and transport, the share of manual labor remains very significant in a number of the technological processes. Increased physical activity during manual labor often leads to non-compliance by the employee with labor safety requirements — because of the desire to avoid additional actions. In this regard, mandatory control by the manager is required, who himself must understand and comply with all the safety rules. Personal qualities of the middle managers have a significant impact on the efficiency of their activities in matters of occupational safety and health. In addition to constant monitoring of the actions of subordinates, the leader by personal example must confirm the need for strict compliance with safety requirements. First of all, the manager himself must maintain order at his workplace, comply with the internal labor regulations, be disciplined and competent in professional work matters. The manager should pay special attention to the state of the material and technical base of the unit, and take measures to improve it, including to minimize injuries when working with a faulty tool. Only by fulfilling all the listed requirements, the manager will have authority in the work collective, sufficient to implement his orders to comply with occupational safety requirements and ensure a high level of labor safety in the unit, which not everyone is capable of. To determine the required personal qualities of the leader, the study was carried out using the method of ranks based on positive experience and statistics of the work of linear track sections.