Case Study - GP Safe

GEORGIA-PACIFIC Not Just Safe – GP SafeConcepting, messaging and execution of support materials

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OpportunityGeorgia-Pacific, like all manufacturers, faces constant safety challenges because of the nature of their manufacturing facilities. The need for optimized productivity can sometimes work against the need for personal safety, and thus lead to injuries.

When Koch Industries acquired Georgia-Pacific, it immediately transformed the organization from a publicly traded company to a privately held one. Koch brought a new management philosophy. Although the move has had signifi-cant positive impact on the overall enterprise, all employees were faced with a new culture to learn and understand; one that was significantly different than the prior GP culture. The new philosophy emphasized value and productivity while the prior philosophy listed safety first.

During this time, safety, which had been a cornerstone of the former manage-ment philosophy, was rolled into a broader category called Compliance.

Additionally, GP was presented with some specific challenges:

• Two employees were fatally injured on the job. This served as a wake-up call to all members of the corporation from the CEO to line workers.

• Employee feedback revealed that the average GP line worker believed that safety was no longer the most important factor to upper manage-ment (as opposed to the prior executive team).

• The most dangerous time of year, early summer, was quickly approaching.

• There are over 300 GP mills and offices operating quasi-autonomously throughout the U.S.

This was an opportunity to not only provide employees with peace of mind knowing safety was of paramount importance, but it was that rare chance to do work that could literally help save lives.

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300+ GP mills and offices

Georgia-Pacific NOT JUST SAFE – GP SAFE


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AnalysisCorporate Executives

The new corporate vision brought to GP from Koch is based upon 10 pillars of excellence – all interdependent. Compliance (under which safety falls) is only one of the pillars. Over the past few years, there has been less discussion from top-level management about safety. It has been blended into a larger discus-sion about compliance and how that relates to the business operation.

From the executive’s point of view:• No program could sacrifice any other pillar in the pursuit of safety. • Being compliant isn’t a choice – it is a mandate. • Demanding zero incidents doesn’t seem unreasonable.

Mill Management

This group is made up of all supervisory staff within a mill. Included in this group are Safety and Compliance Officers whose responsibility it is to educate and report all incidents.

This group:• Is strongly motivated to reduce incidents within their mill, but it is not

their only role in the mill. • Is pressed for time and limited in budget.• Is responsible for implementing any programs provided by GP corporate. • Can be very entrepreneurial and willing to try different tactics when

given the chance.

Line Workers

The primary workforce for GP operates in and around heavy machinery. Even those employees who are not on the production floor may be around large objects, chemicals, vehicles or some other hazardous situation. When a serious accident occurs, it is usually within this group.

This group:• Has been targeted frequently about safety and can be numb to the topic.• As a whole, does not believe their mill or GP as a corporation can go

incident free.• Believes, as individuals, that s/he will go incident free.• Believes that productivity is more important to management than safety.• May be at risk any given day, but still needs to perform their jobs

effectively.

3target audiences



4Georgia-Pacific NOT JUST SAFE – GP SAFE

Large posters hang in the GP corporate offices for National Safety Month


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Goals and ObjectivesOur goal was to raise employee sensitivity and emphasize management’s com-mitment toward safety with four objectives:

• Convey a commitment from management that they put individual safety above all other priorities.

• Evoke a sense of personal responsibility and pride in the employees’ minds.

• Instill in the employee and mill culture the idea that zero incidents are attainable.

• Create an environment where the reporting of near misses is encouraged.

SolutionIn the past, safety had been discussed as a group topic or something that the entire mill should focus on. The employee survey revealed a strong belief that s/he can and will go without an incident while, at the same time, the same employee often doesn’t believe the whole mill can do so.

What this exploration revealed was that there are actually two different types of mills, those with an incident record and those without. The mills operating at an index of 1.5-1.7 may not find a zero-incidence campaign credible. There-fore, we crafted a two-step campaign with one common hook.

Campaign A

For mills that had experienced safety incidents/accidents, the campaign rolled out with a declarative statement:

One is One Too Many.

This message accomplished two goals. It clearly puts value on the indi-vidual, something that the employees felt was lacking. While at the same time, it kept the goal attainable. The message was clear, caring and aspirational.

4project objectives



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Campaign B

For mills that had clean records, the campaign took on a more celebratory tone about the number zero.

Safety in Numbers

Because these mills had seen years without incident, they knew they could do it, and the campaign served as a reminder to keep it up with less focus on achieving a new goal.

The execution included a traveling tour of the Big Blue Zero (in 3 differ-ent sizes). Employees were photographed in different regions showing the blue zero with their names and safety records captioned.

In addition to the campaign variations, there was a new hook developed that built on the historical pride and exceptional record of GP. Despite the recent incident, GP still ranked among the safest manufacturers nationwide and employees were encouraged to be proud of that record.

Not Just Safe – GP Safe.

A new set of expectations was also drafted that described what GP Safe really means.

2-stepcampaign,

1 common hook




17 mills played host to the Big Blue Zero at the request of employees


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Implementation and ChallengesWith 300 independent mills, each with different manufacturing processes and employee makeup, distribution posed the next challenge. The solution was a suite of electronic materials for the mill safety officer that s/he could customize and manipulate.

We provided a kit made up of editable PDFs in which each mill could change particular fields of text based on what they wanted to say. This allowed the mill manager to exert some control over their message and personalize it.

For mills that adopted the Safety in Numbers campaign, the GP print produc-tion department also offered the option to have a new photo placed into the PDF of that particular plant – yet another way to make the message personal and showcase the mill’s pride in their employees.

Campaign Roll Out Process

As the campaign and strategic materials were developed, an ever-increasing circle of participants were invited to offer their opinions.

• First, the GP corporate stakeholders were presented with the solution and creative concepts in rough form. They had an opportunity to change language and offer their insights.

• Second, a group of 15 public affairs managers (one from each large GP facility) were brought to Atlanta and presented with the same materials in a conference room and invited to offer their opinions. Their input was then incorporated into the campaign.

• Based on collected input, the first kit was sent to two select mills to test launch the program. Materials were hung and posted to evaluate employee’s reactions. The campaign was well received and both mills requested their own Big Blue Zeros.

• The final program was then rolled out to all mills for distribution.

2 mills hosted test launch



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Final deliverables included:

• Manager’s Cue Kit explaining how to use the materials• Large posters (3'x6'), suitable for mill floors• Small posters (11"x17"), suitable for bulletin boards• Bumper stickers with assorted messages• Web graphics for intranet at mill locations• Ad formats for placement in local community newspapers• Promotional items

The operating budget included all creative and production as well as strategic development. Realm and GP worked together to mitigate costs and eliminate missteps by:

• Creating small-step reviews to gain insight and buy-in• Using GP’s in-house photographer for all the location photography• Deploying the program almost entirely as on-demand printing


January February March April May June

GP engages Realm in conversation

about safety.

Campaign concept pitched to corpo-rate communica-tion department.

Concept presented to

interdepartment stakeholders.

Executive management

approves definition of GP Safe.

Campaign message and methods

presented to mill management.

Location photography

at 3 select mills and GP corporate

offices.

Limited launch to two large mills.

Following 2 weeks used to evaluate

employee reaction.

Be GP Safe launched to mills

nationwide.

Rollout coincides with National Safety Month.



Fliers, signage and ads featuring workers per-sonalized the campaign


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Measurement and EvaluationThere are more factors impacting safety than just messaging, so early on we established that incidents would not be our measure. Instead, we focused on attainable objectives like participation, visibility and employee belief – particularly in shifting the perception that management doesn’t value safety as much as it used to.

Post-launch evaluation done by phone to mill safety officers has revealed:

• That even prior to launch, several mill managers were hacking the rough PDFs to create their own signage and start marketing the message to their employees.

• All mill managers surveyed overwhelmingly support the tagline Not Just Safe – GP Safe. They describe it as striking the perfect balance between demand and pride. It allows workers to think of their safety as an asset, not a requirement.

• Managers began including messaging and imagery from the campaign in their communication tools.

• Three mills specifically requested photography to launch a customized campaign. GP responded by sending out staff photographers armed with Big Blue Zeros.

• Employees requested Big Blue Zeros for their hardhats and key chains. • Large campaign posters were hung in the GP corporate offices for

National Safety Month and 60 smaller posters were posted on the floors of each building.

• The campaign expanded to include approximately 300 safety managers. • The campaign themes and materials were incorporated in the message

platform for the entire GP leadership team (about 15 of the top leaders in the company).

Coming from a typical agency environment, very few of our staff understood the risks that line workers can face every day. It was an eye-opening experience.

Conversely, it is very rare that we get to work on a program that carries such weight. There is an overwhelming spiritual value to think that one person may avoid an injury, or even death, because of our work. We all found it to be very rewarding.

3 mills requested customized campaigns


Date post:	13-Apr-2017
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Case Study - GP Safe

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