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How a communication initiative dramatically improved the safety record
In the energy and resources industries, fatalities are far too frequent. However, in the Shell Group's exploration and production upstream business, the number of accidents has been dramatically reversed after the launch of "Goal Zero". Anthea Cudworth, who led internal communication for its launch, describes how it galvanized the firm to shift the way people thought about safety, and thereby how they managed the business.
The major upstream business at Shell, comprising exploration and production activités, operates in over 30 countries, employing 35,000 employees and a further 250, 000 contractors. We were continuing to suffer fatalities each year, which we knew to be totally unacceptable.
Two years ago, we started working with the leadership team to build agreement to lift the pace of change and raise the bar on how they were leading the safety agenda. We wanted them to take accountability for driving the importance of safety in the business, giving staff and contractors no doubt about the sincerity of their position.
Shell had always taken safety seriously. We had well-established standards and guidelines in place, including three "Golden Rules" that helped outline the importance of individual responsibility for safety in the work environment. A Safety Day had just been introduced by the Group's HSE (Health, Safety & Environment) team to encourage everyone across the entire company to focus on the topic at the same time on a single day.
Some parts of the business were achieving impressive safety records. But it was clear that while a solidly implemented HSE management system was an essential basis for good safety performance, outstanding safety performance could only be achieved if the culture was right. The leadership needed a common mindset. As a result, "Goal Zero" was launched by Cudworth together with her Upstream HSE and HR leads.
It described what we wanted to achieve: zero deaths, zero significant incidents and zero injuries. It's a commitment to "no harm", outlining the attitude and behaviors people need to adopt to make this possible. It meant holding safety as a value, much like honesty or integrity. It meant safety wasn't in competition with other business priorities and wouldn't be compromised.
The communication approach
With such a broad spread...