As companies start recovering from the coronavirus debacle and the major downturn due to oil prices, the time has come to focus on rebuilding a sustainable business, especially in the field of safety. Some companies just continue to rebuild following the same philosophies and principles that have been carried on for years. It is a good time to update philosophies, policies, and procedures and to implement effective ways to monitor and enforce those policies.
In order to stay up with times and technology, there are numerous cost-effective ways to enhance, economize, and improve your safety department. Hopefully, this article will pique your interest and be helpful. Here are some probing questions that might help you in this process:
• What are your safety Strengths/Weaknesses?
• Is your TRIR where you want it to be?
• Is your training effective?
• Do you have the most qualified AND effective safety personnel?
Most companies have generic policies/procedures that comply with governmental and customer requirements. There are some built-in pitfalls in this area. For instance, there are some cookie cutter services that make generic yet comprehensive safety manuals for companies that enable the smaller companies to meet the customer demands and legal requirements. This is especially true when filling out the required information on ISNetworld in order to do business for most customers. It is usually required in the Master Service Agreement (MSA).
We know that, for some companies, it is a formality to just get the business. This is rarely adequate for most applications unless it is service-specific to the service being provided. For litigation purposes, most service companies utilize the generic safety manuals for that reason. So it goes without saying that there are numerous gaps in the manuals. It is difficult to enforce generic rules, which also lead to pitfalls when legal action is taken and specifics are not detailed when it goes to court. The pendulum of generic vs. detailed guidelines swings both ways. If generic guidelines were adequate, we could all say “Work Safe” and we would all be good.
I contend that during this “down turn,” it is a great opportunity to re-evaluate your policies and procedures. In that process you will be able to review incidents/accidents and ask yourselves pertinent questions, such as: 1. does it make sense? 2. Is it written in a manner that states it clearly? 3. Is it enforce-able? 4. Can it be monitored? 5. Is it laced with too much legalese language or is it directed clearly to all levels? When writing policies and procedures, it is always recommended to go through a risk management department. If a risk management team is not available, at least have a qualified attorney look it over—one who is familiar with the laws and the industry.
As I have stated before in other articles (it bears repeating), training must reflect verbiage on the level of the intended audience. Verbiage: 1. Speech or writing that uses too many words or excessively technical expressions, 2. The way in which something is expressed; wording or diction. Too many times I have seen training performed on a class where they lose the audience in a matter of seconds, due to the presenter directly quoting rules and regs. It’s like the old adage we have all used, “I don’t want to build a watch. I just want to know what time it is.” How many times have you sat in class (H2S) and talked about the chemical differences between H2S (hydrogen Sulfide), H2S2 (hydrogen Disulfide), and SO2 (sulfur dioxide)? I’m getting sleepy just writing about it.
Presentation Improvement is another huge opportunity to improve upon and/or analyze. If you ask 20 safety guys what is the best way to give safety presentations, you would get 20 different answers. However, if you ask 20 recipients of those said classes, you would hear mainly one response: “make it relevant, quick, and just the facts.” The mind can only absorb what the gluteus maximus can take. Six Words, Six lines on Six slides, (PowerPoint). The use of humor is essential as well. I do not suggest a stand-up comedy act, a mistake that some try. The use of pre-thought-out humor that relates to the audience is used by the best trainers. Another pitfall that I’ve seen is a converted operations person thrust into safety. Such individuals do not command quite the ”buy in.” They will state the rules as they know them, and then “wink, wink” if they think it’s a dumb rule or reg. I’ve even seen them tell of ways or short-cuts to get around a rule/reg of which they are not fond.
I recommend some program that better monitors the effectiveness of training. When I say effectiveness, I mean, “Do you see the training in action in the field?” Is it observed in the field enough? If we’re talking about an occasional safety guy doing an arbitrary field audit once per quarter, does such an approach paint an accurate picture of the “real world”?
In the real world, I would never expect to hear of a CEO out in the field trying to evaluate the effectiveness of training, compliance, and behaviors. I have seen it, usually with an entourage of upper management subordinates on a preplanned route, at a preplanned time. I was easily enamored with the TV show, Undercover Boss. In every show, the bosses were amazed at the “lack of quality training or lack of enforcement” of the policies and procedures there actually was.
I know these are tough times in our O&G industry. But if there is a way to save money, and meanwhile to become more efficient and more productive, safety is well worth the investment! Instead of “Safety First… to go,” now is the time to reassess and make Safety First to Lead!
—Dusty Roach
I leave you with this passage:
Psalm 4:8:
In peace I will lie down and sleep,
For you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.