Safety doesn’t occur by accident – it is thoroughly planned and developed for each specific project site.
Zero is not commonly correlated with success. Zero revenue, zero backlog or zero repeat business would be disastrous; however, when measuring safety performance, zero is the ultimate goal. This coveted number is the paramount from which safety performance is gauged. And many times, safety performance can be a valuable indicator for predicting project success.
At Black & Veatch, environmental, safety, health and security considerations are initiated when a project pursuit begins. Client expectations, scope, hazard evaluations, designing for safety and much more start early in the process.
At the project site, safety starts on day one. Site orientation and training are precursors for all project team members prior to starting work in the field. Once orientated and trained, daily safety task assignment meetings start every shift. The messages for these meetings are developed for the day’s scope of work based on a job hazard analysis or a task-specific risk assessment. They include mitigation measures for identified hazards associated with the day’s work, as well as coordination between contractors and crews.
Project managers and construction managers are responsible for safety performance on projects while safety staff serves a critical role in the implementation of safety programs. From coordinating meetings to monitoring compliance, safety managers help drive safe behaviors by incorporating safety in the daily activities and interacting with craft and supervisors to make sure that safety issues are being addressed. They also interact with contractor management and clients to ensure all parties are on the same page.
“Hitting the target of zero is realistic if you have the commitment to get there,” said Ruth Powell, Black & Veatch Safety and Health Manager for Europe.
On the surface, achieving zero incidents may appear to be a stretch, but the consequences of any goal other than zero are irreversible.
“Giving the perception that incidents are acceptable is the wrong message. We can make up schedule, tighten budgets or replace defects, but we can’t take back the pain, suffering and personal loss associated with injuries,” said John Johnson, Vice President and Director of Black & Veatch’s Environmental, Safety, Health & Security group. “Our focus on safety is driven by the moral and ethical obligation we have to provide safe, secure and healthy working environments.”
Predicting Project Success
A company’s commitment to safety and the success of its safety program is only scratching the surface of what a safety record can indicate. Subpar safety performance is usually also a precursor for other issues on a project.
“Typically, safety performance can be used as a barometer for the success of a project,” Johnson said. “It’s extremely rare for a project to be successful in quality, cost and schedule while underperforming in safety. Our experience has shown that safety performance is typically one of the first indicators that other issues may be on the way.”
The trend makes sense, considering that the discipline it takes to execute safety practices that lead to exemplary safety records is similar to the discipline needed to maintain a well-run successful project, Johnson added.
The Differentiator
Most reputable companies in the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) industry have safety programs and good ones at that. However, what really sets a program apart is the company’s ability to consistently implement its program, Johnson said. Developing written safety programs and processes is the easy task – what sets Black & Veatch apart from others is its ability to consistently implement and deliver what it says it will deliver.
“Over the past four years, 90 percent of our construction projects have zero injuries. We want to make this true for all our projects and believe that by also focusing on non-injury incidents and applying the learning from these events, we can achieve even better results,” said Johnson.
Programs, like Black & Veatch’s, that focus on behaviors, and give attention to near-miss reporting and investigating the causes can increase safety success. True learning always comes from asking “why.” If a negative behavior occurs, or if an actual incident takes place, the focus should not be so much on who is to blame, but rather why did it happen in the first place?
“We once had a situation where some equipment was nearly damaged because it was not secured to the forklift while in transit. While the load did not fall, it was a close call,” explained Johnson. “Instead of using the ‘no harm, no foul’ approach, we sat down with the equipment operator, supervisor and some other stakeholders to discuss why this happened.”
The result of that discussion was finding out that the operator had been requesting tie-downs from his supervisor for some time, and the supervisor had been putting the request through, only to keep hearing that the tie-downs were on back order. By focusing on the incident, not just the result, the safety staff was able to not only remedy a problem and prevent it from happening again, but demonstrate to the project team how far the company is willing to go to prevent actual incidents.
Developing Trust
The safety approach has changed over the last couple of decades, Johnson noted. “It used to be that safety managers were policing project sites. Now, safety managers act as technical experts in a partnership with the project’s leadership and craft.”
The most successful safety managers are the ones that develop relationships based on trust. In this type of environment, individuals are comfortable bringing safety issues to light knowing that they will be addressed without reprisal. A single safety manager cannot dictate the performance of a project, but when that safety manager has the right approach and works with the project leadership, others get on board and set the tone and expectations for the project.
“Safety is about staying true to yourself and your values,” Johnson said. “Being a company that prides itself in doing the right thing, safety is paramount because, ultimately, we are talking about people’s health and well-being. The more people that are involved and engaged in incident prevention, the closer we get to our ultimate goal, zero incidents.”
Subject Matter Experts
John Johnson: JohnsonJH@bv.com
Ruth Powell: PowellR@bv.com
