HEALTH & SAFETY
With our help, Global Construction set out some ambitious, but very clear objectives:
This is the fourth article in our ongoing series which is examining the challenges facing the onshore wind energy sector in improving safety standards.
Our previous article looked at some of the challenges facing client organisations, and how, given the complex nature of wind farm construction sites, it was critical that companies overseeing projects with multiple contractors take a ‘hands on approach’ to safety. We discussed the importance of demonstrating strong leadership, encouraging communication and providing adequate resources to support the process of change.
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Here we present a live case study illustrating how Global Construction is creating a lasting effective safety culture, where people connect personally with the importance of health & safety, take responsibility for their actions, and strive for a management/worker relationship based on openness and transparency. We will look at the challenges facing Global Construction, who is affected, and some of the steps that have been taken to create positive change.
SETTING STANDARDS, NOT FOLLOWING THEM
Like any major organisation, Global Construction has clear legal obligations to safeguard the health and well-being of its employees and the public. As the HSE and the Institute of Directors both recognise, effective safety leadership requires workforce involvement. Organisations need to get better at actively seeking workforce opinion and involvement with management as a driving force to developing an effective safety culture.
However, nothing can change without the willingness and commitment of leaders to sit down with frontline operatives, listen to what they have to say and be influenced by them.
The leadership team at Global Construction take their health & safety responsibilities very seriously, and recognise the challenges they face.
David Macdonald, Civil Engineering Director comments:
‘We want our business to set standards, not to follow them. Transparency is the only way to break down barriers and encourage people to speak about health & safety. We need to show our workforce that when they speak up they’ll be taken seriously. Creating this kind of culture is necessary for continuous improvement and is in itself something we always have to work at.’
• create a level playing field for everyone to express views and share experience about health & safety
• remove barriers to communication between people from different parts and levels of the organisation
• connect people personally with the importance of health & safety
• motivate staff towards taking personal responsibility for safety
• Identify priorities for safety improvement
RISKING A NEW APPROACH
Current methods of health & safety training, based on following rules, and listening to instructions, are not always effective ways to create wholesale cultural change. What is often needed is a more human, inclusive approach in an environment that brings people from all spectrums of the organisation together. The focus in this space should be about what the participants think and feel, and what is important to them.
We designed a forum event, based on these principles. At the heart of the event was a story – Cable Strike – based on a real incident that resulted in the death of a worker at Global Construction. This story was the stimulus and it was designed to be hard hitting, emotional, challenging and uncomfortable.
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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