Opinion
● Feeling pressure from peers to keep quiet. ● Feeling pressure from leaders to get the job done quickly.
Factors like these cannot be dealt with unless people are given the opportunity to identify them and acknowledge their impact. Stories and action learning techniques have proven to be an accessible and powerful way of doing this.
Improving the quality of interventions Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) also identified fear of conflict as a barrier to intervening. Tey have a system of ‘Safe Cards’ which enables staff to report unsafe acts and situations. Teir objective was to improve the quality of interventions by providing staff with the opportunity to practice and develop skills. Again this was achieved by introducing a story led training program – Te ‘Safe Card’ content was used to create a drama, presented by actors, portraying a series of typical unsafe acts and situations. Te culture and values of office-based staff within PGS was highlighted by the characters’ behaviour in the drama. Tis was then examined by staff, who worked with the actors to question and discuss what they had witnessed from both angles: the person making the intervention and the person whose behaviour is being questioned. Tis process gave individuals within PGS the
opportunity to explore and try out how they might intervene, in a safe learning environment. Te fact that they did this alongside colleagues helped to support a culture shift within the team, in which the importance of intervention was understood, and its practice encouraged and accepted.
Fig. 1. Most people in the oil and gas industry work alongside others. Therefore, any unsafe act will be witnessed by a colleague who could then intervene. If anyone who witnesses an unsafe act makes the choice to intervene, then this acts as a powerful safety mechanism.
to a relaxed and informal approach in which basic safety procedures were ignored. Nils trusted Anders and felt obliged to him for his offer of help. Tis encouraged him to overlook his own responsibilities, leading to a passive attitude, despite his own authority and experience. In sharing their own views and experiences,
the crews who watched the drama identified the cultural and relationship factors that influence their readiness to intervene, for example:
● Not wanting to offend senior people or create conflict with peers.
● Assuming that senior people know what they’re doing.
Summary Tere is no doubt that cultural and relationship factors influence people’s readiness to intervene. By acknowledging and addressing these factors, and by giving people the opportunity to practice behaving differently, organisations can develop intervention as one safety mechanism that will make a difference. As we have discussed, a number of major organisations within the sector recognise the importance of intervention. Many have invested in new ‘action’ based training techniques where drama could be used to address culture and relationship issues that act as barriers to intervention. Tis can prove helpful in shifting attitudes and developing confidence among staff and managers to take personal responsibility for safety. ●
Glen Robertson is a Director of international learning and development consultancy Forum Interactive, Edinburgh, UK.
www.foruminteractive.co.uk
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