The discussions with the operators is not a witch hunt. It is to try and establish if there is any training or support we as a Company should be providing.
I would be very keen to hear from other companies who have addressed the problem of acciident prone employees and how this issue has been addressed and what were the outcomes.
Rob Hunter
One Response
Ask What Is Distracting Them From Their Natural Inclination To W
Rob
In an offshore environment we found out that the one thing that most distracted people from their natural inclination to work safely was the plethora of safety notices that covered every available square inch.
A notice on a door with a cartoon image saying “Beware doors bite” was deeply insulting to a man who had worked without an accident for his whole life.
His view of the safety notice was that the producers of the notice considered him to be so stupid he needed to be reminded every time he went through a door that if he slammed it on his hand it would hurt.
There was no suggestion that he would deliberately slam the door on his hand to prove a point but there was a firm belief among the workers that they were at times less careful when they were subject to a constant stream of well meant safety posters and training videos continually restating the obvious.
On this particular rig there had been created an environment in which the crew felt able to speak and their wishes and needs were responded to.
The crew asked for these posters to be taken down and the Oil company complied.
The level of accidents is so low in the North Sea today that there is no way of telling what the statistical effect of that action was.
Only that the crew felt more comfortable and able to concentrate on their own safety.
Maybe the key question would be to ask not why they were having accidents but what could they do to prevent them.
A subtle distinction that starts to move away from the Blame culture.