Global award winning safety program targets individual beliefs to create a sustainable safety culture

Overview

The Upstream Operations and Well Engineering teams of this oil and gas company have had their safety leadership efforts recognised on a global scale, being awarded the Safe Delivery and Assest Integrity Award at the 2015 EDGE Awards. The awards recognise the transformative safety initiatives that have been implemented by teams around the world.

Their challenge

The organisation’s workforce was predominately new with many having minimal experience and familiarity with the hazards associated with the oil and gas industry. The chance of an incident occurring was heightened by the immaturity of the safety processes that were not fully embedded.

Our solution

Actrua designed the Switch On program that created the foundation for the organisation’s safety culture by personalising and repositioning safety in the context of what matters most to each individual.

The workshops challenge each individual’s current beliefs and behaviours about safety by reflecting on what is most important to them in their own life and reframing their motivation for staying safe. This is called their “Top 4”. This insight is then used as the foundation of their safe working life by empowering them to meaningfully question and change their own beliefs and behaviours to protect their Top 4 at work and at home, and the Top 4 of others.

Switch On differs from conventional safety training in that it is a highly interactive and experiential program. It simplifies the discussion on safety and engages participants in active discussion around some relatively simple ideas which explore how the human psyche approaches beliefs, accountability, and the perception of risk. Participants come away with the following learning and skills that continue to embed and sustain the safety culture of the organisation:

• Shared belief that all incidents are preventable
• Practical skills to positively influence others and intervene
• Awareness of what it really means to be Switched On and Safe to Start

True sense of what being accountable for safety means The workshops are co-facilitated with a member of the leadership team which enables shared ownership and a commitment to work together to drive positive change.

The result

The safety performance of the organisation has continued to improve, despite a ramp up of operational activity and steady growth in man hours worked. Switch On has been instrumental in establishing a robust and enduring safety mindset which empowers frontline personnel to confidently challenge and intervene when they see unsafe acts and conditions. It has successfully created an environment where the common language of “Top 4” provides an easier avenue to question an unsafe behaviour or act. Workforce engagement was also impacted by the Switch On program resulting in improved planning, leading and organising which impacted the success of project deliverables.