Organizations often seek guidance before launch-ing or implementing a new behavior-based safety (BBS) program.
This article presents an organiza-tional structure and methodology for organizations implementing a new BBS program. It identifies the nature and magnitude of unsafe behaviors in organizations; details the training agenda for BBS observers and lead BBS trainers; outlines the steps of
Identify the BBS expert team members who
would introduce BBS into the
organization in terms of desired changes such as fewer incidents, near misses and at-risk behaviors among workers.
For a complete Table of Contents,
see page 3
systematic BBS program design; lists the responsibilities of the corporate task force and local steering commit-tee on BBS; and develops the meth-odology and activities involved during BBS implementation. The article is based on a longitudinal national action research survey on BBS in India.
IntroductIon
Organizations introducing new BBS programs often have many
I would like to update you on International Practice Specialty activities that have taken place since I became Administrator in 2012. With the International Practice Specialty Advisory Committee’s support, a strategic plan for the 2012-14 term was established in line with ASSE’s goals and the Council on
Practices and Standards’ self-assessment matrix. The strategic plan focuses on the three Ss: supporting all members, spreading liaisons throughout the world and planning group leadership succession.
SupportIng MeMberS
•In October 2012, the practice specialty held a 1-day forum on global SH&E metrics in Lake Buena Vista, FL. The forum addressed Asian, European Union and sustainability metrics.
•International Practice Specialty and the Center for Safety & Health Sustainability established a collaborative agreement to help support multinational companies with respect to global SH&E issues.
•The practice specialty held open webinars on Asia-Pacific SH&E regulations, Gulf Cooperation Council regulations and the top five challenges faced by SH&E professionals globally.
•Javier Saavedra, International Practice Specialty Spain/Portugal liaison, developed a country profile on Portugal, which is posted on the International Practice Specialty website.
•Interviews with subject-matter experts from Korea, China and Kuwait were published in World Focus.
•Several technical articles on global SH&E issues were published in World Focus.
•The International Practice Specialty Advisory Committee web-page was updated.
•A special project team was established for updating existing country profiles on our website.
•International Practice Specialty conducted an International Leadership Forum at Safety 2013, which featured international leaders from Australia, Institution of Occupational Safety and Health and Canadian Society of Safety Engineering.
•The practice specialty held its annual open meeting and networking event at Safety 2013, which included a presentation by Bill Sims. The group also spon-sored several sessions and will do so again at Safety 2014.
•Several international SH&E-related items were uploaded to ASSE’s Body of Knowledge.
•Our LinkedIn group continues to have high participation.
SpreadIng InternatIonal practIce SpecIalty throughout the World
•The practice specialty has established regional liaisons and subliaisons across the world to share SH&E issues and legal requirements for their respec-tive regions with International Practice Specialty members. The number of countries represented by regional liaisons and subliaisons has increased from 16 countries in 2012 to 26 countries in 2014.
•Membership Chair Jitu Patel and I represented the practice specialty and ASSE at several international SH&E forums and professional development con-ferences in Malaysia, Muscat, Bahrain, India, Nigeria and Kuwait.
•International Practice Specialty supported the launch of ASSE’s new ambassador program. Membership Chair Jitu Patel and I have been appoint-ed as ASSE ambassadors for the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia.
World Focus is a publication of ASSE’s Inter-national Practice Specialty, 1800 East Oakton St., Des Plaines, IL 60018, and is distributed free of charge to members of the Interna tion-al Practice Specialty. The opinions expressed in articles herein are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of ASSE. Technical accuracy is the responsibility of the author(s). Send address changes to he address above; fax to (847) 768-3434; or send via e-mail to [email protected].
PAGE 1 IMleMentIng neW bbS prograMS In organIzatIonS
By Harbans Lal Kaila
Many organizations seek guidance before implenting BBS pro-grams. This article details program design requirements and the elements of a successful BBS trainer program.
PAGE 16 aSSe WorkIng to eStablISh chapter In dubaI
ASSE Ambassador Jitu Patel recently met with safety profes-sionals in Dubai who are interested in ASSE membership and in forming a local chapter.
PAGE 17 aSSe aMbaSSadorS partIcIpate In 2nd annual hSSe ForuM
ASSE Ambassadors Jitu Patal and Ashok Garlapati participated in the HSSE Forum, held Feb. 8-11, 2014, in Muscat, Oman.
Sh&e practIceS In the gcc regIonBy Bala Siva Srikanth Adivi
Ujwal Ritwick, a senior health, safety and environmental specialist at Kuwait Petroleum Co., discusses standards and process safety management in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Region.
aSSe nIgerIa chapter to hold pdcKamildeen Abiodun provides details about the upcoming Nigeria Chapter PDC and about SH&E challenges in Nigeria in this interview.
PAGE 4
PAGE 12
Volume 13 • Number 3
coNNectioN Key
V W p L AD D
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Click on these icons for immediate access or bonus information
PAGE 18 QueSt For eMployee engageMent: the poWer oF poSItIve reInForceMent: part 2
By Bill Sims Jr.
Rewarding individual safe behaviors using positive reinforcement promotes team commitment more than using one-size-fits-all reward systems.
PAGE 26 an approach For SucceSFul conStructIon: Sh&e plannIng & IMpleMentatIon In aFrIca
By Gbolahan K. AbiodunSafety professionals in Africa face various unique challenges, including the high prevalence of unsafe working conditions and poor enforcement of standards and policies. However, with the right strategies, SH&E implementation can be successful.
3World Focus www.asse.org 2014
aSSe’S MIddle eaSt chapter conFerence a reSoundIng SucceSS
The chapter’s 11th PDC, held March 16-20, 2014, drew more than 800 attend-ees and featured the most comprehensive forum ever held in the Middle East.
PAGE 20D
SIngapore WSh conFerence 2014Don’t miss your chance to be one of the more than 700 professionals attending this upcoming event.
IPS: Please share your thoughts on SH&E practices in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region over the past 2 decades.
UR: I came to Kuwait about 25 years ago. As a technical safety engi-neer, I have seen waves of changes in the SH&E field, and I am proud
to have been part of these changes. I have evolved continuously as a result.
Companies used to have a loss prevention philosophy that focused on fire and security. The role of a safety engineer was to issue safe work permits and inspect unsafe acts and conditions. Significant issues such as environmental management, occupational hygiene and process safety were altogether missing from the agenda. Line management, super-visors and employees did not own safety.
I was once asked to inspect and approve scaffolding erected over a heat exchanger. I asked the foreman responsible for its erection how I could get on to the scaffolding deck. The foreman and his workers started to laugh. “Come on, you are young. Just put one foot on that 4-in. pipe, hold that valve wheel and climb up. Be careful not to step hard on that other thin yellow pipe. Last time when I stepped on it, it bent,” the foreman said.
I was not sure if he wanted me to be soft and approve the scaffolding, which was tied to pipes and other pieces of equipment. However, the standard threat came next. Although stated gently, he said, “Please be fast. They are waiting for the startup.” This was a clear message that I could not disapprove of his work; my inspection was only a formality.
Regarding my competency as a scaffolding inspector, no checklist or training was provided for inspecting scaffolding. All we did was hold one of the vertical supports and shake
it violently. If the deck shook, we would reject the scaffolding.
In those days, safety standards did not exist or users were not aware of them. Everyone would first use a common-sense approach. My com-pany, Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC), put me on a commit-tee to write unified corporate safety regulations.
By the mid-1990s, process safety management (PSM) was knocking on our door. As early as 1996, a system approach to safety was intro-duced in KNPC that incorporated many of OSHA’s PSM elements. In 2000, we were the first company I know of to have a dedicated division for environmental management. A further upgraded SH&E manage-ment system was introduced, which emphasized elements of occupational health. The environmental manage-ment system was certified to ISO 14001. We were certified to OHSAS 18001 as well. A similar evolution has occurred across the GCC region.
IPS: In your opinion, which five initiatives pushed SH&E from book to practice?
UR: Let me start with a failure. Behavior-based safety (BBS) pro-grams have generally been a non-starter in the GCC, especially due to the way some companies try to copy Western implementation methodol-ogy. I am not sure if any companies in the rest of the world can shout their success from the rooftops. The GCC has a multinational, multicul-tural, multilingual, multiethnic and
Ujwal Ritwick is a senior health, safety and environmental specialist at Kuwait National Petroleum Co. who has more than 33 years’ SH&E experience. He discusses evolving SH&E practices in the Gulf Cooperation Council region in regard to standards and pro-cess safety management.
SH&E Practices in the GCC Region
Q&a WIth ujWal rItWIck, crSp, Qep, reM
intErViEW
4World Focus www.asse.org 2014
Ujwal Ritwick, CRSP, QEP, REM, has more than 33 years’ SH&E experi-ence in operations and technical ser-vices with petroleum, petrochemical and nuclear power companies. He is a senior health, safety and environmental spe-cialist at Kuwait National Petroleum Co.
Ritwick is a lead auditor of OHSAS 18001, EMS ISO 14001 and QMS ISO 9001, a certified professional in corpo-rate social responsibility and sustain-ability, an industrial hygienist, a certified health, safety and environmental trainer, a certified risk management auditor and a certified auditor and implementer of process safety management. He is also a six sigma green belt and a founding president and member of ASSE’s Kuwait Chapter and the 2009 Region VI Safety Professional of the Year.
By baLa siva sriKantH adivi, csP, cMiosh
5World Focus www.asse.org 2014
diverse workforce. Implementing a BBS program has been a challenge. BBS is a noble initiative, but it needs to extend further.
Environmental management is a real success story. We were late to implement these strategies, but I feel they are firmly in place. Regulations, for example, EPA requirements in Kuwait and even more stringent Dubai laws have been the driver. Public perception and expectations have increased over the years, and I believe management everywhere has taken the environment seriously.
PSM has seen uneven growth in the region. Some petroleum and pet-rochemical companies have success-fully run PSM systems for more than a decade. Hazard and operability study (HAZOP) is almost universal, but the same cannot be said about other key elements.
I think the most important ini-tiative is the move to a system approach. SH&E is now well under-stood as a composite system owned by management.
IPS: In 2000, what were your motives in establishing an ASSE chapter in Kuwait as a founding president?
UR: I firmly believe that “profes-sional development is a lifelong process.” Safety by definition is mul-tidisciplinary in nature. It requires professionals to perpetually seek deeper knowledge and skills. When I came here 2 decades ago, I felt a vacuum. Only a few national com-panies offered training to select staff. There was hardly any developmental support for the vast majority of safe-ty professionals. The region’s geog-raphy did not permit free networking across the border, so ASSE’s Middle East region was confined in its reach. The Internet was yet to become commonplace. Some colleagues and friends began to meet at my home to brush up on their HAZOP skills. They had heard of my classes in India. Soon, we began to meet monthly to educate each other on various safety topics.
First, we formed a section in Kuwait. I remember driving the length and breadth of Kuwait and knocking on doors to get the required nine signatures of dues-paying members. The first interna-tional SH&E conference in Kuwait in 2001 gave us much-needed cred-ibility, publicity and confidence. We soon reached the required number of members and graduated to a chapter. The rest is history.
This success has been a humbling experience. I thank everyone who participated in this revolution.
IPS: How has ASSE contributed to the industry and community at large?
UR: ASSE’s Kuwait Chapter has been nothing short of a revolution that extends beyond the geographi-cal boundary of Kuwait. It will take more than an interview to recount what the chapter has achieved.
Providing a platform for SH&E professionals was just the beginning. Thousands of such professionals from all levels have benefitted from the development programs offered by the Kuwait Chapter. Proof of suc-cess lies in the results. These can be counted in terms of hours of develop-ment programs attended, number of professionals obtaining or seeking higher qualification (Kuwait boasts one of the highest number of CSPs outside the U.S.), number of experts brought to Kuwait to speak, number of technical meetings held, number
of conferences organized and number of awards given to recognize perfor-mance.
In turn, these professionals have contributed immensely to their respective companies, which ulti-mately flow into the society and country. Injuries are prevented, the environment is protected, property is not damaged and reputation is unharmed. Many of these successes cannot be measured directly.
ASSE was instrumental in the culture shift that has taken place over the past 14 years.
IPS: How has your involvement with ASSE helped in your profes-sional duties at KNPC?
UR: The more I participate in and contribute to ASSE, the more I get back. The safety function is multi-disciplined in nature. The body of knowledge is huge and requires con-tinuous updating. Peer discussions and debates, listening to experts and presenting to discerning audiences have helped me advance my techni-cal knowledge.
ASSE also honed my event and program management skills. I have been able to use many of these skills in my work with KNPC.
IPS: The GCC region considers you a PSM guru. How has PSM influenced the GCC region?
UR: PSM awareness has increased, but much more must be done. When done well, PSM results in efficient and profitable operations. However, that is not always visible, and some companies take the short-term gain/long-term pain route.
This is where government agencies must play a role in enforcement. A PSM regulation similar to OSHA’s is needed in this region to help promote the program, especially in the oil and gas and petrochemical sectors.
IPS: PSM is an umbrella of the SH&E management system. What steps should ASSE take to enhance PSM awareness in the GCC region?
UR: The issue is not a lack of awareness. I believe the people who
Process safety management (PSM)
awareness has increased, but much more must be done.
When done well, PSM results in
efficient and profit-able operations.
need to know about PSM are already aware. ASSE needs to encourage regulatory bodies to implement the program.
IPS: What can be done to encour-age ASSE members in the GCC region to join ASSE’s practice specialties, which focus on the core practices of SH&E?
UR: I propose that ASSE hold specialty meetings and events in the region (e.g., the Kuwait Chapter could hold a PSM conference).
IPS: What will the Kuwait Chapter focus on during the next decade?
UR: The chapter should plan to work with the government to
develop and implement regulations in various SH&E disciplines during the next 5 to 10 years. Another area of priority is to enroll young local engineers. I envision them as the future of the society and the country. If they take SH&E seriously, we will have a long future.
The contracted work system is here to stay. To improve SH&E among contractors, ASSE’s Kuwait Chapter has many initiatives to its credit. However, we have many more miles to go.
IPS: What areas should GCC industries focus on to enhance SH&E performance?
6World Focus www.asse.org 2014
UR: They should:a) Work with government to
enhance regulations.b) Establish institutes of higher
learning for SH&E.c) Stop using lost-time injury as a
measure of SH&E performance. This is a dangerous and counterproductive measure.
d) Encourage young engineers to join the revolution. •Bala Siva Srikanth Adivi, CSP, CMIOSH, is a senior safety engineer working with the health, safety and envi-ronmental team of Kuwait Oil Co. and is secretary of ASSE’s International Practice Specialty.
International Practice Specialty Member Wins Kuwait Chapter’s SPY Award
ASSE International Practice Specialty member Bala Siva Srikanth Adivi, CSP, CMIOSH, received the Kuwait Chapter’s 2013 Safety Professional of the
Year (SPY) Award for his contributions to the chapter and SH&E profession. Adivi received the award dur-ing the Kuwait Chapter’s 7th International Professional Development Conference held in November.
The Kuwait Chapter is part of ASSE’s Region VI, which consists of 15 chapters within the U.S. and three international chapters. Candidates for the award are judged by the scope, depth, qual-ity and impact of their efforts within the SH&E profession. The judg-ing panel also considers what an individual has contributed to his/her company, ASSE and the community.
Adivi has more than 15 years’ SH&E manage-ment experience in the oil and gas industry and is a senior safety engineer at Kuwait Oil Co. He is
International Practice Specialty secretary and has held various positions within the Kuwait Chapter. He initi-ated the first online application for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Health, Safety and Environmental Excellence Award in 2013 and also initiated a new Management of Driving Safety Award for private sector organizations in GCC. •
7World Focus www.asse.org 2014
International Practice Specialty
Events at Safety 2014
The International Practice Specialty’s annual open meeting and networking event will take place on Monday, June 9 from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. at the Hilton Orlando Hotel (Room Lake Highland B). The group will also sponsor the following ses-
sions during Safety 2014:
June 9, 10:30 p.m.-11:45 a.m.508: I Have to Know & Do What? Considerations for
International PracticePresented by Eldeen E. Pozniak, CRSP, CMIOSH, MIIRSM,
June 10, 3:00 p.m.-4:15 p.m.657: International Law Affecting SH&E Professionals (2-Part
Session)Presented by Norman A. Keith, J.D., LL.M, CRSP, Fasken
Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, & Kirsten Wallerstedt, MA, 3E Co., Carlsbad, CA
June 10, 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.684: Deadly Atmospheres: Are They Also on Construction
Sites?Presented by Nirupam Mukherjee, PRAXAIR Inc., Pudong,
Shanghai, China, & Krishna Nirmalya Sen, Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
June 11, 7:45a.m.-9:00 a.m.708: IPS International Leadership forumPresented by Ashok Garlapati, CSP, QEP, Kuwait Oil Co.,
Ahmadi, Kuwait; Andrew E. Cooper, Canadian Society of Safety Engineers, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Timothy W.S. Briggs, B.Sc., M.A., CFIOSH, Institution of Occupational Safety & Health, Wigston, Leicester, U.K.; Michael Tooma, LL.B, RSP, Norton Rose Fulbright, Sydney, NSW, Australia
June 11, 1:45 p.m.-2:45 p.m.750: What Is Your Project Really Worth? Economic Methods
to Determine True BenefitsPresented by Lawrence J.H. Schulze, Ph.D., P.E., CPE,
University of Houston, Houston, TX
June 11, 1:45 p.m.-2:45 p.m.752: Correlating Sports to Safety: A Winning CombinationPresented by Jeffrey L. Weldon, CSP, Bechtel International,
Lake City, FL
June 11, 3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.781: Working & Living Overseas as an SH&E ProfessionalPresented by Anthony B. Martinez, CSP, CIH, Saudi Aramco,
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, & Brian K. Burns, CSP, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Visit the Safety 2014 website for more information.
questions. Corporate SH&E departments seek the involvement of top management executives, expose them to the BBS concept to get their consent and involve the heads of sites at which they plan to launch BBS.
SH&E departments also undertake a series of preim-plementation exercises and preparations. The final task is to identify the BBS expert team members who would introduce BBS into the organization in terms of desired changes such as improved rate and frequency of injuries and fewer incidents, near misses and at-risk behaviors among workers.
reSearch Method
This article is an extract of the data from a longitudi-nal national action research survey on BBS in India. In this ongoing study, nearly 600 BBS training workshops
8World Focus www.asse.org 2014
were conducted for 10,600 workers (operators, techni-cians, contractors, union representatives) and 2,400 managers at all levels from 1997 to 2014 in diverse mul-tinational organizations across industrial sectors. Indian companies that participated in BBS programs included Maharatna/Navratna companies and Energy Giant, as well as companies in the chemical, automobile, phar-maceutical, electrical, nuclear, steel, construction, ship-ping, coal and heavy engineering industries. They were exposed to BBS concepts, observation and feedback pro-cesses and implementation of BBS in an organization. Workshops were held in English and Hindi for groups of 30-50 training participants. BBS program participants were expected to know:
•how to reduce incidents by changing behavior;•an easily and quickly implementable safety approach
for unskilled labor;•how to teach contract workers to minimize incidents;•how to use the BBS concept to improve safety per-
formance.
unSaFe actS/at-rISk behavIorS aSSeSSed durIng july 2013 & january 2014Table 1 shows that on average,
84% of worker behaviors are per-ceived as safe and 16% behaviors are perceived as unsafe. This was determined through discussions and plant visits. These data indicate that the plant has safety systems/pro-cedures as shown in the 9 behav-ior categories, but these systems are not reflected in safe worker behavior. This confirms the need for BBS implementation to target zero unsafe behaviors in the plant. Remember that any single unsafe behavior is capable of triggering an incident, injury or fire at any time, and if it is not addressed, it will surely lead to an incident. An indi-vidual category of behavior needs to be monitored during the BBS implementation process.
traInIng bbS obServerS & lead bbS traInerS
New BBS programs evolve through continual training (Fred R., personal communication, 2014). Employees are like clay that must be molded into model employees who represent company safety at its highest level. This requires commu-nication skills among all employ-ees, not just those on the work floor. The management team must
CoVEr story
Implementing New BBS Programs in Organizationscontinued from page 1
Behavior Categories Percentage of Behaviors Perceived as Safe
Percentage of Behaviors Perceived as At-Risk
1) PPE: Using eyeglasses, hearing protection, gloves, helmet, etc.
85 15
2) Housekeeping: Work area maintained appropriately (e.g., trash and scraps collected, no spills, walkways unobstructed, materials and tools organized).
84 16
3) Using tools and equipment: Using correct tools for the job, using tools properly and using tools in good condition.
83 17
4) Body positioning/protecting: Positioning/protecting body parts (e.g. avoiding line of fire and pinch points).
79 21
5) Material handling: Body mechanics while lifting, pushing and pulling, and use of assist devices.
78 22
6) Communication: Verbal and nonverbal interactions that affect safety.
80 20
7) Following procedures: Obtaining and complying with permits, following standard operating procedures and following lockout/tagout procedures.
90 10
8) Visual focusing (attentiveness). 83 17
9) Using a cell phone while working. 94 06
Average 84 16
Table 1 Perceived Percentages of Safe Behaviors & At-Risk Behaviors
9World Focus www.asse.org 2014
show enthusiasm about progress and must participate in behavioral observations on a continued cycle. Praise goes a long way toward sustaining the program.
Criteria for selecting training participants as BBS observers and lead BBS trainers are:
1) preferably drawn from all sections/departments;2) positive-minded;3) safety-oriented;4) good, expressive communicators;5) ready to create BBS awareness, to train people and
to actively support the BBS project; 6) ready to observe and correct unsafe behaviors. Lead trainers are responsible for creating BBS aware-
ness and for training people as BBS observers. They also actively support the BBS project, make regular observa-tions and correct unsafe behaviors. The contents of a 5-day lead BBS trainer program are as follows:
Agenda: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.
Day 1•BBS concept;•attitude and behavior change;•BBS as OHSAS compliance;•BBS process;•observation and feedback process;•observer and observee profiles;•observers’ eight behaviors;•six stages of human change process;•measurement of safe and unsafe behaviors;•documentation and display of safe and unsafe behav-
iors;•traditional safety versus BBS approach;•safety systems and BBS;•three methods to achieve safe behavior;•zero incidents versus zero unsafe behaviors; •participants’ learning assessment and queries;•workshop evaluation.
Day 2•create BBS trainers within the organization;•roadmap for BBS implementation across the organi-
zation;•advertise BBS through posters and banners;•address management’s questions before BBS launch; •experiential learning of trained BBS observers;•how to sustain BBS culture in an organization;•observers’ test of excellence;•participants’ learning assessments and queries.
Day 3•BBS project organization; •formation of BBS steering team and its tasks; •displaying BBS banners and posters;•preparation of training materials, observation cards
and stickers for observers;•participants’ learning assessment and queries.
Day 4•nomination of a dedicated BBS
project coordinator at the location;•ensuring strong leadership drive
for the BBS project;•linking BBS observation as part
of a performance management sys-tem/key result areas;
•announcing the BBS project on company portal;•developing a base level of safe and unsafe behaviors
at the location;•issuing an official written announcement of the BBS
project at the location;•issuing a BBS sticker to lead trainers to put on their
helmets;•issuing a training attendance certificate to all partici-
pants as a motivation factor;•participants’ learning assessment and queries;•workshop evaluation.Note: An onsite/plant observation visit and analysis is
held every day.
eleMentS oF a SySteMatIc bbS prograM deSIgn A systematic BBS program design should include the
following elements (Kaila, 2013b):1) BBS implementation project kick-off meeting.2) BBS workshop for top management.3) Announcing BBS project on company portal as
corporate initiative.4) Safety assessment survey at locations.5) BBS workshop for corporate-level BBS implemen-
tation team.6) Formation of a BBS steering team for each loca-
tion.7) Nomination of a dedicated BBS project coordina-
tor for each location.8) BBS lead training followed by project guidance at
each location.9) Ensuring strong leadership drive by all HODs for
BBS project activities. 10) Displaying BBS banners/posters at each location.11) IT-enabling BBS observation checklist. 12) Developing BBS training as an e-module. 13) BBS monthly review by steering teams at each
location and compliance with review proceedings. 14) Rewarding the best BBS observers based on
maximum observation.
The management team must show enthusiasm about progress and must participate in behavioral observa-tions on a continued cycle. Praise goes a long way toward sustaining the program.
15) Corporate implementation team review on BBS monthly progress.
16) Including BBS awareness training in contractor/vendor terms and conditions.
17) Linking BBS observations with performance management system/key result areas.
18) Safety statistics board should also reflect the per-centage of safe and unsafe acts.
19) HSE Index to include the monthly percentage of unsafe/at-risk behavior.
20) Comparing injury data every 6 months before/after launch date of BBS.
21) Celebration of BBS annual day.
reSponSIbIlItIeS oF the corporate taSk Force/local SteerIng coMMIttee on bbS
The corporate task force on BBS is an active body to oversee the new BBS program and ensure that it evolves through continual training, motivation, mentoring and monitoring progress at each site. The management team must be equally excited to see progress and participate in local steering committees on a continued cycle. Showing praise and recognition toward sites that are making head-way helps sustain the program.
The corporate task force on BBS must ensure the fol-lowing for successful implementation:
•The safety statistics board at each location should reflect the percentage of safe and unsafe acts.
•The percentage of at-risk behavior at each location should be part of the HSE index.
•Safety motivation and recognition need to be intro-duced at each location.
•BBS observations must be linked to performance objectives.
Responsibilities of the local steering committee on BBS at the location/site:
The local steering com-mittee on BBS is an active body at each site that works to implement the program while motivating the lead trainers to spread awareness at the plant. The committee must also conduct monthly meeting as per steering team tasks.
Methodology & actIvItIeS durIng bbS
roll-out BBS roll-out across an
organization requires sup-port from the BBS expert, creation of an awareness program using lead trainers to educate all employees/contract workmen, formation of a BBS steering commit-tee and clarification of its tasks. BBS banners should be prepared and displayed, IT must enable a BBS checklist and practical onsite observation visits and analyses must take place every day (Kaila, 2013d). These actions are described in Table 2.
organIzatIonal Structure For bbS IMpleMentatIon
BBS programs at sites must include systemic chang-es, identification of weak areas with respect to physical safety, process safety and electrical safety. Improvement measures must be put in place as per site-specific recom-mendations based on gap analysis reports. A successful BBS implementation requires the following structure (Kaila, 2013a):
•Form a steering committee on BBS.•Form functional committees on BBS such as com-
mittee on road safety, committee on working at height, committee on electrical safety, committee on process safety and safety during hot works committee.
Functional committees should meet periodically (e.g., once a month) to determine site-specific standards, study best practices and implement strategies approved by the plant’s top management executives. These meetings should also include discussion of roles and responsibili-ties of committee members, and a process-specific BBS
10World Focus www.asse.org 2014
Table 2: BBS Roll-out Action Plan for Organizations
Nominate a BBS project coordinator
Formally announce BBS through written communication by plant director
Form a BBS steering committee
Create BBS awareness among staff and contracted workers
Conduct a safety perception survey
Display BBS banners and posters
Identify BBS observers for each location and ensure that they are trained by lead trainers
Survey present status of unsafe behaviors by lead trainers
Develop an IT-enabled BBS observation checklist
Include BBS elements in contract terms and conditions
Conduct internal and external BBS audits
Review BBS implementation and action for improvement by the corpo-rate task force
Celebrate BBS implementation and reward the best observers based on BBS best performance
11World Focus www.asse.org 2014
checklist should be prepared during roll-out to capture safety data and other information.
concluSIon & recoMMendatIonS
Injury prevention is sometimes viewed as policing and fixing an employee who has caused an incident, a philosophy that did more to eliminate the criminal than to eliminate the crime. A better approach is to instead focus on identifying and eliminating unsafe behavior using BBS observers who are trained to discover prob-lems that may otherwise go undetected.
Unsafe or at-risk behaviors often exist in the work-place, laying the foundation for an incident. Unsafe behavior is a byproduct of many work cultures that is acknowledged only once an incident has occurred. Rather than trying to fix people who behave unsafely, efforts should be aimed at improving safety culture. A trained BBS observer reduces risk by an average of 2%, indicating s/he can save people from incidents. Workplace fatalities occur because people have not been made aware of their unsafe behaviors. Taking a short amount of time to correct a colleague’s unsafe behav-ior can save his/her life. “Feeling for safety of fellow employees” is the first step in safety management (Kaila, 2012, 2013c).
Involving people in the observation of safe/unsafe behaviors is a new safety approach. Challenge yourself to correct unsafe behaviors you observe. BBS forms a strong bridge connecting all safety procedures to reach the final destination of zero unsafe behaviors. BBS suc-cess comes from a strong drive by the management team to emphasize BBS implementation across an organi-zation in a routine fashion. Safety professionals must convince top managers that safety systems should be implemented.
By adopting the best work systems, such as BBS, India is on its way to having the world’s third largest economy. Organizations that fail to take a scientific approach to human factors in safety are gambling with their futures. Organizations that adopt a behavior-based safety approach move toward zero incidents by focus-ing on achieving zero unsafe behaviors and involving all employees. •
reFerenceS Kaila, H.L. (2012). Behaviour-based safety in orga-
nizations. New Delhi, India: Prasad Psychological Corporation.
Kaila, H.L. (2013a). Industrial deaths: Points of con-cern for insurance companies. The Journal of Insurance Institute of India, 1(3), 40-48.
Kaila, H.L. (2013b). Re-thinking human safety—Is industry really poised for zero accident?—A review. Prabandhan Indian Journal of Management, 6(10), 5-12.
Kaila, H.L. (2013c). Is industry really poised for zero accidents? World Focus, 13(2), 14-19.
Kaila, H.L. (2013d). Review of BBS implementation in Indian organizations. World Focus, 13(1), 10-16. Harbans Lal Kaila, Ph.D., is a psychology professor in Mumbai, India. He has more than 30 years’ professional experience and has worked on projects for Indian Council of Social Science Research, University Grants Commission, National Safety Council and World Health Organization. He has authored books, as well as journal and newspaper articles, and has made television appearances.
Kaila has represented India at international conferences in New York, Berlin, Rome and Sydney and has conducted more than 500 behavior-based safety workshops and has co-conducted 25 safety awareness surveys for various locations in India. He is editor of the Journal of Psychosocial Research and vice president of Counselors Association of India. Kaila may be contacted at [email protected].
Safety 2014 Chapter Night Out
Are you attending Safety 2014 in Orlando, fL? Don’t miss the Chapter Night Out on Tuesday, June 10
(7 p.m. to 11 p.m.) at WonderWorks. Sponsored by ASSE’s Central florida Chapter, this event is a great way to meet other ASSE members and enjoy an entertaining evening as you explore exhibits throughout the upside down build-ing that houses the indoor amusement park for the mind. The registration fee (adult $75; child, ages 4 to 12, $49.50) includes dinner buffet, dessert, unlimited soft drinks and the entire facility reserved exclusively for ASSE.
IPS: Please provide a brief description of your profession-al background and your role in ASSE’s Nigeria Chapter.
KA: I am a health, safety and environmen-tal professional with 12 years’ experience. My career interests include SH&E and quality in
the oil and gas industry, construction project SH&E management in Dubai and corporate SH&E management with the Port of Tyne Authority in the U.K.
I am a principal health, safety and environmental engineer for DeltaAfrik Engineering Ltd. (a WorleyParsons group), which is a design engineering, procurement and construction management company in Nigeria. My roles in the organiza-tion span corporate, project engi-neering design, construction SH&E management and auditing. I also support other company projects in South Africa and Equatorial Guinea. I provided HSE management super-vision, including design, contractor selection and site execution for the Bay Atlantic Tower design engineer-ing office complex with zero lost-workday cases.
Previously, I was a project safety engineer with ETA-ASCON for a Business Bay infrastructural devel-opment project in Dubai, United
Arab Emirates, and provided con-struction HSE management and training for a multinational work-force of more than 300.
I am a member of Nigerian Institute of Safety Professionals, ASSE, Institution of Occupational Safety and Health and Nigerian Environmental Society. I am also a registered safety advisor in Dubai, and a certified occupational health and safety auditor.
I hold a Chemical Science degree from the University of Agriculture in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and a mas-ter’s degree in Environmental Health and Safety Management from the University of Sunderland in the U.K.
I have volunteered with ASSE at the chapter level as a delegate and committee member in educational development and as a speaker at Safety 2013. I am the 2013-14 presi-
dent-elect of the Nigeria Chapter and coordinator of the Nigeria Chapter’s 2014 Professional Development Conference (PDC).
IPS: The Nigeria Chapter will hold its first PDC from May 21-23 at the Federal Palace Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos. How did you assist in the planning process, and what topics will be covered at the conference?
KA: The Nigeria Chapter’s execu-tive committee appointed me to champion the PDC’s theme of giv-ing voice to safety in Nigeria. I also volunteered to lead a team that will execute this project because I am passionate about the profession and about improving safety and health standards in Nigeria and Africa. Passion without action and effective engagement hinder change, and as
Kamildeen G. Abiodun is the 2013-14 president-elect of ASSE’s Nigeria Chapter and coordinator of the chapter’s 2014 Professional Development Conference (PDC). In this interview, Abiodun discusses SH&E challenges in Nigeria, the upcoming chapter PDC and the need for increased SH&E awareness across Nigeria’s industry sectors.
ASSE Nigeria Chapter to Hold PDCQ&a WIth kaMIldeen g. abIodun, preSIdent-elect oF nIgerIa chapter
intErViEW
12World Focus www.asse.org 2014
From right: Kamildeen G. Abiodun, Nigeria Chapter president-elect, PDC coordi-nators and committee members with Dickson Amromawhe of Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria.
13World Focus www.asse.org 2014
safety professionals, we are change agents who must promote effective engagement to achieve the desired result.
The conference will cover top-ics such as challenges facing SH&E professionals, SH&E competency development, construction safety management and regulatory and legal requirements.
IPS: How is the Nigeria Chapter spreading the word to SH&E pro-fessionals in Nigeria about the upcoming conference?
KA: As SH&E professionals, we understand the importance of engagement and communication for gaining commitment to safety in organizations. Engagement and communication skills are used to promote the PDC with the support of ASSE’s staff and Yassie Dunn, ASSE’s global growth and develop-ment manager.
The Nigeria Chapter’s executive committee developed a detailed pre-sentation on the benefits of holding a PDC and expo at the Nigeria Chapter level. The PDC’s goal is to bring together all SH&E professionals and industry leaders under one roof.
After the September 2013 chapter meeting, during which the PDC was announced, the chapter president
was granted an interview on national Nigerian television to further spread the news. Updated communication was maintained through the chapter president’s office and the PDC com-mittee secretary. We also communi-cate continuously with members.
In November 2013, Nigeria Chapter members attended the ISPON conference in Lagos to pro-mote the upcoming PDC (photos 1 and 2).
Nearly 80 members attended our January 2014 meeting in Port Harcourt, and we signed an agree-ment with a conference and exhibi-tion service provider in February 2014. With ASSE’s support, e-mail marketing was initiated in February 2014 to inform members and other professional bodies in Nigeria of the event. Additionally, 500 exhibi-tors were contacted by e-mail, and a
press release was distributed to local and international media to increase awareness about the event.
IPS: How will the Nigeria Chapter evaluate the conference’s success? Will it poll attendees afterward or obtain feedback throughout the event?
KA: We will obtain feedback from attendees after the event to evalu-ate success and ensure that we have another great and memorable confer-ence in 2015. We also look forward to receiving feedback from ASSE President Kathy Seabrook and ASSE staff.
IPS: What events or meetings does the Nigeria Chapter have planned for Safety 2014 in Orlando, FL?
KA: The Nigeria Chapter plans to hold Nigeria Night during Safety 2014. Our goal is to host a great event representing Africa to dem-onstrate ASSE’s global reach. Our members are already making pledges to ensure the event’s success.
IPS: What are the Nigeria Chapter’s goals for the year?
KA: We want to give voice to safety through effective collaboration and engagement with other profes-sional boards to strengthen SH&E awareness.
During Safety 2012, Rick Pollock, ASSE’s president at the time, said in his address to “imagine a strong future where ASSE and its members are recognized as ‘thought leaders’
The PDC’s goal is to bring
together all SH&E professionals and industry leaders under one roof.
From left: Jeff Obahor, Nigeria Chapter president, with Rabiu Suliaman, gen-eral manager, health, safety and environmental, and Yusuf Abdul Kadir of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporate.
May 21-23, 2014Federal Palace Hotel
Victoria Island, LagosClick here for more information
and the ‘voice’ for our profession” around the globe. When the Nigeria Chapter’s executive committee presented the chapter goal for the year, it reminded me of Pollock’s statement, which further inspires my passion for the SH&E profession and the need to increase SH&E aware-ness across all industry sectors in Nigeria. •Kamildeen G. Abiodun is a health, safety and environmental professional
with 12 years’ experience. Abiodun is a principal health, safety and environmental engineer for DeltaAfrik Engineering Ltd. (a WorleyParsons group). In this role, he provides SH&E management supervision, including design, contractor selection and site execution, for the Bay Atlantic Tower. Previously, he was a project safety engineer with ETA-ASCON for a Business Bay infrastructural development project in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he provided SH&E management and train-ing for a multinational workforce of more than 300.
14World Focus www.asse.org 2014
Abiodun is the 2013-14 president-elect of ASSE’s Nigeria Chapter and coordinator of the chapter’s 2014 Professional Development Conference. He is also a member of Nigerian Institute of Safety Professionals, Institution of Occupational Safety and Health and Nigerian Environmental Society. He holds a Chemical Science degree from the University of Agriculture in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and a master’s degree in Environmental Health and Safety Management from the University of Sunderland in the U.K.
SH&E in Nigeria
IPS: What challenges do SH&E professionals in Nigeria currently face, and how are they working to overcome them?
KA: SH&E professionals in Nigeria and in other African countries face weak enforcement of available safety-related laws and regulation. Ineffective legis-lation makes it difficult for SH&E professionals to make the business case for SH&E management and to encourage incident reporting.
A lack of awareness also exists. In Nigeria, SH&E awareness is approximated within 20% of the national population in the oil and gas sector workforce, which is likely similar to other African states with oil and gas resources. Therefore, changing the culture across industry sectors in Africa is a challenging task consid-ering the majority of Africa’s workers operate under informal enterprise with no formal knowledge of safety and health associated with their trade.
To overcome these challenges, safety organizations in Nigeria, led by Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria, are working with the government to sign into law occupational safety and health legislation and to create a National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. This council will ensure safety and health compliance in workplaces and will regulate safety professional competency development in the country.
To support this awareness campaign, ASSE’s Nigeria Chapter, led by President Jeff Obahor, will hold a PDC and expo in Nigeria. This will be an annual event and key strategic plan for the Nigeria Chapter to increase awareness and charter a new course for SH&E ideas, acceptance and improvement across all business sectors in Nigeria and Africa.
IPS: In your opinion, have SH&E practices in Nigeria improved over the last 5 years?
KA: SH&E practices have improved in Nigeria thanks to the collaboration of several safety training institutes and other training providers in the U.K. and U.S. I believe Nigeria has the highest number of competent safety professionals in Africa. However,
lack of awareness among small businesses makes it challenging for SH&E professionals to increase their impact on safety of life and property.
ASSE can support and encourage Nigeria Chapter members in their initiatives to increase awareness of SH&E best practices on projects undertaken in Nigeria and in Africa overall.
IPS: What new SH&E initiatives within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry do you believe are most noteworthy?
KA: One good government initiative is implemen-tation of the local content law. Its objective is to increase the composite value of local businesses and citizens through systematic development of capacity and capabilities and through use of Nigerian human and material resources and services in the country’s oil and gas industry.
For international oil and gas operators, the policy mandated employment and engagement of new local suppliers and vendors. This resulted in a need to increase SH&E awareness and to provide SH&E com-petency training for new workers and vendors entering the sectors. Also, the quarterly SH&E forum, an initia-tive of major international oil and gas operators, allows contractors and vendors to share lessons learned from incidents and to recognize good safety practices. It has also given Nigerian SH&E professionals training and major project supervision opportunities.
IPS: How has ASSE helped you better protect workers?
KA: Through ASSE, I have increased my profes-sional knowledge and have found instant support from SH&E professional networks when facing chal-lenges in my daily SH&E management duties. My current position with DeltaAfrik Engineering Ltd. was a direct outcome of my networking with other SH&E professionals during Safety 2008 in Las Vegas, NV. ASSE has also increased my confidence in providing professional advice and in making decisions.
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ASSE is working to establish a chapter in Dubai. ASSE Ambassador Jitu Patel met with Mariam Al-Marshoudi, Ph.D., founder and CEO at first
Gulf Pharmaceuticals, and Sunil Manajrekar, Ph.D., CEO at Sanbook Quality Consultancy, to discuss ASSE and its mission and to explain how ASSE could help improve safety in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates.
Al-Marshoudi agreed to promote the idea of forming an ASSE chapter in Dubai and convinced His Royal Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum to become the chapter’s sponsor. His Royal Highness Sheikh Sultan of Abu Dhabi also agreed to support the chapter’s forma-tion. According to Patel, the royal support will encourage SH&E professionals in Dubai to join ASSE. To further boost momentum, Patel led a technical symposium and gave a presentation on the benefits of joining ASSE.
Patel also met with Anil Dani, director at City falcon Trading LLC, Joseph Varghese, geotechnical manager at fugro Middle East and nutankumar Manvatkar, vice president of fire and rescue at Ports, Customs and freezone Corp. Individuals he met during his visits also reported high interest in ASSE’s Women in Safety Engineering Common Interest Group. •
16World Focus www.asse.org 2014
assE GroWtH
ASSE International Growth Continues in Middle EastSociety Sets Sights on Dubai
ASSE Ambassador Jitu Patel with Mariam Al-Marshoudi, Ph.D., founder and CEO, First Gulf Pharmaceuticals Center in Dubai.
From left: Sunil Manjrekar, Ph.D., CEO, Sanbook Quality Consultancy; Nutankumar Manvatkar, vice president, fire and rescue, Ports, Customs and Freezone Corp.; ASSE Ambassador Jitu Patel; and Sneha Manjrekar, Standard Global Quality Certification, Abu Dhabi.
Prospective ASSE members with Jitu Patel in Dubai.
17World Focus www.asse.org 2014
The 2nd Annual HSSE Forum took place at the InterContinental hotel in Muscat, Oman, Feb. 9-11, 2014, and was organized by M/s Immensoft
International, India. The forum was endorsed by ASSE, World Safety Organization and Institution of Occupational Safety and Health. This successful inter-national event drew more than 75 delegates from major oil and gas, construction and manufacturing companies from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and around the globe to witness key presentations delivered by SH&E experts. ASSE ambassadors Jitu Patel and Ashok Garlapati participated in the forum and discussed the benefits and resources ASSE can offer the region. Each day of the event ended with a raffle draw during which lucky delegates won SH&E technical books.
The forum focused on bringing industry experts together to explore and discuss SH&E challenges as well as solutions to drive organizational performance and profitability in the Gulf region. Because of recent increases in fatalities and environmental damages, the forum aimed to enforce strong commitment among
industry leaders for continuous SH&E improvement. Issues addressed included management commitment, critical thinking skills, SH&E training, fire protection, behaviour-based safety, transportation safety, industrial hygiene, camping and hiking safety, electrical safety and human error as a contributing factor to incidents. Jitu Patel conducted a half-day workshop on process safety management, handling major incidents and crisis management. To support the concept of thinking glob-ally and acting locally, Ashok Garlapati provided an update on the U.N. Global Harmonization System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals, including a discussion of the readiness status of GCC countries.
Mr. Arif, a marketing manager for Immensoft, noted that the annual forum remains a leading source of infor-mation on the latest strategies and technology for the GCC region. With continued support from GCC legisla-tor bodies, key industry players and associations, the forum hopes to grow bigger and better with time. Arif thanked ASSE for supporting the event. •
ASSE Ambassadors Participate in 2nd Annual HSSE Forum
HssE Forum
Global Members Receive ASSE Foundation Grants The ASSE foundation has created two new professional education grants for global members.The 2014 recipients of $1,000 Global Reach grants are:•Shahzad Rasheed, Engro Fertilizers Ltd., Lahore, Pakistan•Ayoub Rebahi, Boukhors Construction Co., El Affroun, AlgeriaThe 2015 program will open on Sept. 1, 2014. Click here for more information.
Part 1 of this article series explained three different kinds of employees—noncompliant, compliant and committed.
A noncompliant employee might say, “I will not follow your safety and quality rules because I am con-vinced the only way to get high production is to take risks and shortcuts.”
A compliant employee might say, “I will follow your safety and quality procedures as long as someone (a manager, a supervisor or a peer observer) watches me. But when that person leaves, I will take risks and shortcuts.”
A committed employee might say, “I will follow the safety and quality procedures in the moment of choice when nobody is watching. This is who I am.”
According to Gallup and Towers Perrin, most companies have less than 10% of employees at the commitment level, 80% of employees at the com-pliance level and 10% of employees at the noncompli-ant level.
The single greatest driver of company profit is engagement or team commitment. However, many firms have reported a 25% drop in engagement/commitment
scores over the past few years.
Gaining com-mitment requires
18World Focus www.asse.org 2014
something rarely delivered by today’s managers and leaders: positive reinforcement.
This does not mean providing steak dinners, issuing gift cards and t-shirts for lagging indicators or other one-size-fits-all approaches. These approaches actually erode commitment and encourage noncompliance. In short, they breed mediocrity. They reward all employees with the same thing and are the most common reward sys-
tems because they are easy and often inexpensive.
Most companies (whether they use behavior-based safety systems or not) have some kind of safety celebration during which everybody receives the same steak dinner or t-shirt regardless of their contribu-tions to performance. These systems often contradict management’s stated philosophies.
When everyone receives the same reward, regardless of their effort
level, a system similar to communism is introduced. On paper, communism sounds like a great idea: it does not matter how hard everyone works—they will all receive the same thing, and they will look out for each other. However, like so many others, that form of government has not worked out well for those who have tried it. The same underlying flaws in this system are found in today’s one-size-fits-all systems.
Pretend that you and I work together. You are the hardest-working employee in the department (i.e., you are committed to safety and quality in the moment of
choice when nobody is watching), and I am your coworker.
I cut corners and take shortcuts that jeop-ardize safety and quality, and I tease you for doing things the hard way as I watch you put safety first.
As we eat our steak dinners at the million-safe-hours-worked celebration, I grin at you and say, “Hey, my steak’s bigger than yours. How does that make you feel?”
EmployEE EnGaGEmEnt By biLL sims Jr.
Quest for Employee Engagement: The Power of Positive ReinforcementPart 2
Gaining commitment
requires something rarely delivered by today’s managers
You are probably a little mad. The more you think about it, the madder you get. You soon say to yourself, “I guess nobody really cares what I do around here. You get the same thing no matter how good a job you do.”
Little by little, your commitment begins to unwind and erode.
Soon you are not one of the 10% of employees who are committed. Welcome to Club Compliance. You can hang out here with the 80% of workers who have figured out how to do just enough to get by but not a much more.
Why should they? Management has not given them a clear and compelling reason to care. Management has made it clear that they will reward poor performers and noncompliance just as much as they will reward the high achievers. Through one-size-fits-all approaches, they have rewarded incompetence and punished high achievement.
This phenomenon has a special name in the mili-tary. It is called eating cheese. Think of the cheese as a team’s collective passion, spirit, morale and com-mitment. Think of your employees as dozens of mice hiding in the shadows drooling over that big block of cheese. When the cat (leadership) is around, the mice stay away from the cheese. But when the cat is away, the mice come out to play.
One brave thought leader mouse will timidly tiptoe out to the cheese and take a big bite—an instant, posi-tive, immediate and certain reward for risk taking.
These are the first employees to test leadership’s met-tle and ability to lead. As soon as the other mice see that eating the cheese has worked out well for the thought leader mouse, they realize that if you snooze, you lose. One by one, they take their own respective bites of cheese until it is gone.
In a similar fashion, the cheese of modern business has been nibbled away, resulting in an alarming shortage of worker commitment due to leaders’ failure to create positive reinforcement for high achievers.
In fact, during the past economic meltdown, the reward for doing a great job was keeping your job and doing the work of three or four coworkers who were laid off. You did not receive a pay raise for this. USA Today has reported that these overworked workers who were denied overtime and bonuses during the last great economic downturn are filing lawsuits in droves against their employers, demanding back pay for excessive hours worked.
So how well do the best behavior-based safety cul-tures deliver the positive reinforcement that people crave and need, and how can you add more positive reinforce-ment to your current management system?
Find out by reading Part 3 of this article series in the next issue of World Focus. •Bill Sims Jr. is president of Bill Sims Behavior Change. For more than 30 years, he has helped companies improve human perfor-mance and profitability through positive reinforcement. He is also the author of Green Beans & Ice Cream: The Remarkable Power of Positive Reinforcement.
Classroom@ASSE
Overcoming the Top 10 Safety Leadership MistakesMay 7, 2014
Applied Case Studies in EOHS EthicsMay 14, 2014
STEPS: Shaping the Future of Safety Excellence June 25, 2014
Too Old to Work? Too Sick to Work? Too Stressed to Work? A Look at the Latest Strategies for Optimizing the Intersection of Health & WorkJuly 23, 2014
On-Demand Offerings
Recordings From ASSE’s Fatality & Severe Loss Symposium
Prevention Through Design Virtual Symposium
Improving Safety Through Mobile Technology
International Society for Fall Protection Symposium
Changing Behaviors: Balancing the Elements for Effective Safety Management Systems
ANSI/AIHA/ASSE Z10-2012: Standard for Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems
The final 3 days of the program featured five keynote speeches and 75 technical presentations cover-ing topics such as occupational health and wellness, process safety and security, safety leadership and culture, fire protection, trans-portation, environment protection and contractor safety. In addition, subject-experts participated in six panel discussions on similar topics. Keynote speakers were Patricia M. Ennis, CSP, ARM, ASSE President-Elect; Dr. Sam Mannan, Director, MKOPSC, Texas A&M; James Johnson, NSC Vice President; and
ASSE’s Middle East Chapter (MEC) hosted it 11th Professional Development Conference and Exhibition
March 16-20, 2014, in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The chapter’s web-site provides a glimpse of the event’s magnitude. The event, which drew more than 800 attend-ees, featured the most comprehen-sive forum ever held in the Middle East involving major corporations, government and global educational organizations. The program focused on emerging SH&E challenges in the Middle East region and globally. Forty vendors were also on hand to showcase the latest safety-related equipment and services. In addition to participating in a leading-edge learning experience, attendees were able to network and earn CEUs and take home a 500-page proceedings
20World Focus www.asse.org 2014
book that captured all presentations delivered during the event.
preconFerence prograM
The first 2 days set the stage for a great conference and gave attendees more than 700 minutes of learning time. Top-quality instructors from a wide range of international firms delivered 17 workshops on topics such as integrating risk management and business continuity manage-ment; contractor safety selection and management; inherently safer design in chemical processes; supervisor training in accountability and rec-ognition techniques; safety integrity level; process safety; HAZOP stud-ies; security risk assessment; effec-tive fall protection; process/projects fire and safety audits; auditing safety management systems; near-miss incident investigation; and safety management leadership.
ConFErEnCE rECap By Jitu C. PateL, cPeA
ASSE’s Middle East Chapter Conference a Resounding Success
event SponSorS
Ministry of Interior, Kindom of Bahrain
Saudi ARAMCO
Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp.
KNPC
DuPont
Qatar Petroleum
BAPCO
S-Chem
ZAFF
AcuTech Consulting Group
Leather Industries
Al Mashreq
CCC
Hameed Al-Qahtani Universal Marketing
GPIC
3MTechnical session speakers and the chairman receive tokens of appreciation.
Eddie Morland, CEO, UK-HSE Health & Safety Laboratory.
A formal inauguration and open-ing ceremony were held March 17, 2014. The guests of honor were His Excellency Lieutenant General Sheikh Rashid Bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa, Minister of the Interior, Kingdom of Bahrain, and His Royal Highness Saudi Prince Abdulaziz ibn Nasser Al Saud as well as other government dignitaries and corporate executives from organizations in the region.
Following a welcome from ASSE MEC President Tariq Al-Ghamdi and Conference Director Ahmed Al Dossary, ASSE President-Elect Trish Ennis told attendees that the world-class MEC conference serves as a model for all ASSE chapters, adding that its success has inspired ASSE’s Nigeria Chapter to host its first professional development conference May 21-23 in Lagos as well as ASSE’s Safety 2014 India, which will take place May 26-27 in Chennai. She added, “I know the work that goes into planning and presenting a successful conference. I am struck by the level of profession-alism, exchange of creative ideas and
commitment to excellence.” She also thanked the chapter leadership for inviting her and invited MEC lead-ers to attend ASSE’s Safety 2014 in Orlando, FL, in June.
Since the event, MEC leadership has received many phone calls and e-mails complimenting the chapter for hosting such a valuable confer-ence. When asked for his impres-
Exhibition Opening Ceremony by His Excellency Lieutenant General Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa, Minister of the Interior, Kingdom of Bahrain.
conFerence organIzIng coMMIttee
Tariq S. Al Ghamdi, President ASSE-MECAhmed Y. Al Dosary, Conference Director
Ali Al Ghamdi, Conference Co-DirectorArafat Al Oqally, Program Committee Chairman
Abdullah Bagais Program CommitteeBrian Burns, Program Committee
Abdullah Al Enazim Program CommitteeHussam Al Khaldi, Program Committee
Abduaziz Al Ghamdi, Marketing Committee ChairmanAbdullah Al Obadain, Marketing Committee
Hatem Al Ahmadi, Exhibition Committee ChairmanAnees Al Selhi, Exhibition Committee
sions, presenter Wayne Carroll, President-Elect of ASSE’s Arizona Chapter, says, “What a conference! Hats off to the organizers!” Carroll was impressed by the quality learn-ing experience and the opportunity to interact with colleagues from around the globe. “I learned about so many efforts to promote safety,” he says. “My workshop alone had 41 partici-pants. Most were from Saudi Arabia, but I also had individuals from the U.S., Egypt, Jordan and England. I was very pleased with the knowledge and participation from those who attended my workshop.” Other high-lights, Carroll reports, were the intel-lectual exchange of safety ideas with safety professionals from all over the world and spending one-on-one time with Saudis talking about safety in their company and their goals. •Jitu C. Patel, CPEA, is an international health, safety and environmental (HSE) consultant with 45+ years of SH&E experi-ence in the chemical, oil and gas indus-tries. For 21 years, he provided profes-sional services to Aramco, an oil and gas producing and processing corporation in Saudi Arabia.
For 15 years, he provided technical training and conducted research in fire/explosions and HSE issues at a heavy chemicals manufacturing company in the U.K.
He has developed and conducted fire and safety seminars for safety and fire pre-vention engineers and for line management of industry operations. In addition, his work has been featured in several interna-tional publications, and he has presented at international conferences.
Patel, an ASSE Fellow, is the International Practice Specialty’s member-
ship chair, a member of the ASSE Council on Member & Region Affairs Global Committee and a senior board advisor to ASSE’s Arizona Chapter. He is also a founding member of ASSE’s Middle East and Philippines Chapters and of five ASSE chapters in India.
He is a recipient of the ASSE Arizona Chapter’s Howard Heideman Safety Professional of the Year Award and a recipient of ASSE’s Diversity and Practice
22World Focus www.asse.org 2014
Specialty Safety Professional of the Year Awards.
Patel holds a B.S. in Chemistry and Physics and an M.Phil in fuel science from Leeds University, U.K. He may be contact-ed at [email protected].
acknoWledgMentS
The MEC acknowledges the generosity of His Excellency, the Minister of Interior, Kingdom of Bahrain. The guid-ance, assistance and support received from the Kingdom of Bahrain in organizing and materializing the confer-ence were outstanding. Significant support was also evident from Saudi Aramco, SABIC, BAPCO, Qatar Petroleum, DuPont, Saudi Bin Laden and ENOC. Abdullah Al Ghamdi, manager, loss prevention, Saudi Aramco, provided valuable guidance and vision. The chapter also thanks Trish Ennis, ASSE President-Elect, Fred Fortman, ASSE Executive Director, and Yassie Dunn, ASSE Global Development Manager, for their presence at the event.
Conference Night Out fun on a camel.
ASSE President-Elect Patricia Ennis receives a token of appreciation from Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, Manager of Saudi Aramco Loss Prevention seen with Ahmed Al-Dossary on behalf of the ASSE Middle East Chapter.
Coorganized by Singapore’s Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council and the WSH Institute and Ministry of Manpower,
the Singapore WSH Conference 2014 will bring together 700 WSH professionals, business lead-ers and government officials to learn about the latest trends and developments in WSH.
This year’s conference theme, “Integrating Safety and Health: Toward a Holistic Approach,”
24World Focus www.asse.org 2014
highlights the importance of adopting a holistic approach in managing WSH.
Practitioners and businesses will share their insights and experiences on how WSH contrib-utes to employee engagement, satisfaction and productivity, as well as organizational suste-nance and business success.
Click here for more information on the con-ference. •
upCominG ConFErEnCE
Singapore WSH Conference 2014
SAFETY India 2014Conference & Exposition
Advancing OSH to Save Lives~Engage with up to 500 safety professionals
from across India.
~The 2-day event features rich content from highly credentialed local and global safety professionals.
~Topics covered include construction safety, ergonomics, legal frameworks for safety, measuring safety performance, safety lead-ership and occupational health.
~Registration includes opening ceremony, evening reception, lunches and tea breaks.
Version 3.0 of the ANSI/ASSE Z359 Fall Protection Code is now available on a flash drive,
allowing SH&E professionals world-wide to have instant and portable access to what is considered the definitive resource for fall protection.
Initially released in 2007, the code is a series of coordinated standards and reference documents that estab-lish the requirements for an effective and comprehensive fall protection management system. Version 3.0 includes the following standards:
ANSI/ASSE Z359.0-2012, Definitions & Nomenclature Used for Fall Protection & Fall Arrest
ANSI/ASSE Z359.1-2007, Safety Requirements for Personal Fall Arrest Systems, Subsystems & Components
ANSI/ASSE Z359.2-2007, Minimum Requirements for a Comprehensive Managed Fall Protection Program
ANSI/ASSE Z359.3-2007, Safety Requirements for Positioning & Travel Restraint Systems
ANSI/ASSE Z359.6-2009, Specifications & Design Requirements for Active Fall Protection Systems
ANSI/ASSE Z359.7-2011, Qualification & Verification Testing of Fall Protection Products
ANSI/ASSE Z359.12-2009, Connecting Components for Personal Fall Arrest Systems
ANSI/ASSE Z359.13-2013, Personal Energy Absorbers & Energy-Absorbing Lanyards
ANSI/ASSE Z359.14-2012, Safety Requirements for Self-Retracting Devices for Personal Fall Arrest & Rescue Systems
ANSI/ASSE Z359.1-1992 (R1999)—Historical Document, Safety Requirements for Personal Fall Arrest Systems, Subsystems & Components
ANSI/ASSE A10.32-2012, Fall Protection Systems for Construction & Demolition Operations
ANSI/ASSE Z490.1-2009, Criteria for Accepted Practices in Safety, Health & Environmental Training
Click here for more information on the code or click here to pur-chase it. •
Z359 Fall Protection Code Now Available on Flash Drive
standards
Join the Public Sector Practice SpecialtyThe Public Sector Practice Specialty (PSPS) began as
the Public Sector Division in 1986. PSPS’s initial objectives were to:
•Develop and implement training and orientation programs pertinent for governmental safety personnel to assist them in upgrading their skills and sharing ideas.
•Initiate information programs to promote the image and need for high-quality public sector safety programs and personnel.
•Redefine the true role of public sector safety profes-sionals to recognize their true scope of responsibility (safe-ty, occupational health, fire prevention, hazardous wastes, tort claim investigation and administration, emergency preparedness and disaster planning).
•Initiate, through Society leadership, dialogues between governmental leaders and division leadership to open lines of communication to demonstrate the true value of an effective program.
Today, the group’s members continue to meet these objectives and to serve those SH&E professionals working for governmental agencies and facilities at federal, state, county, municipal and institutional levels in urban, subur-ban and rural communities.
PSPS also publishes Perspectives, its triannual techni-cal publication, and helps develop technical sessions for ASSE’s annual Professional Development Conference.
Click here to join PSPS today or click here to follow PSPS on LinkedIn.
The need for successful safety, health and envi-ronmental (SH&E) management systems has received tremendous attention around the globe. Most private and government establishments have realized that incident-free operations are
good for business and are an ethical approach for proj-ect completion. Implementation of such approaches has resulted in reduced incident rates during project execu-tion around the globe (International Labor Organization, 2011c). Nevertheless, workforces still experience unhealthy and unsafe working conditions resulting in work-related illness and injury.
Unhealthy and unsafe working conditions are espe-cially prominent in Africa, where a high percentage of businesses are informal enterprises. Most of these enter-prises operate using temporary workers, the majority of whom are involved in high-risk industry sectors. These labor forces continue to expose themselves to hazards because they are saddled with the fear of losing their jobs in the face of Africa’s very high unemployment rate (International Labor Organization, 2011c). This phenom-enon further undermines the successful implementation of SH&E management system (Abiodun, 2012).
In sub-Sahara Africa, various sectors have different public and private percentages of semi-skilled work-ers. An International Labor Organization study (2011c) noted that self-employed workers represent 70%, 62% and 33% of informal employment in sub-Sahara Africa, North Africa, and the worldwide non-agriculture sec-tor, respectively. Hence, it can be inferred that most of these workers are semi-skilled and provide services
26World Focus www.asse.org 2014
for infrastructural or construction industry with no for-mal training regarding safety and health requirements applicable to the area of competency. The construction industry experiences the highest risk of exposure and is considered the most hazardous industry with enormous financial implications, costing the U.K. economy billions of pounds each year (Griffith & Howarth, 2001).
Recent globalization of high-performing multinational organizations in Africa has prompted the enactment of laws, policies, occupational safety and health standards and improvements to basic work conditions. In Africa, gaps often exist between the provision and implemen-tation of such laws and policies. Thus, monitoring the identified laws and policies has not been effective (International Labor Organization, 2011b). Because of this gap, motivating small businesses and service provid-ers to embrace an SH&E management system in their operations is always difficult. Implementation of an SH&E policy is a challenge for organizations that intend to harmonize safety management processes across vari-ous locations worldwide.
Therefore, multinational organization planning and implementing SH&E management systems in Africa should promote policies that address prevailing charac-teristics including sociocultural concerns, location-spe-cific features, localized management commitment and, most importantly, workforce operations.
Consideration of all of these identified factors pro-vides a clear direction to ensure successful SH&E plan-ning and implementation. Thus, organization leaders need to drive and direct safety and health culture as one of the key operation processes toward maintaining an injury-free workplace, as shown in Figure 1 (U.K. Health and Safety Executive, 2011).
plannIng FraMeWork For ManagIng SaFety & health
The U.K. Health and Safety Executive HSG65 frame-work identifies planning as a key requirement in suc-
sH&E in aFriCa By GboLaHan K. abiodun, Msc., GrADiosh
An Approach for Successful Construction: SH&E Planning & Implementation in Africa
cessful implementation of safety and health polices and objectives (U.K. Health and Safety Executive, 1997). Planning helps control risk and reaction to changing demands, long-term health impact (i.e. location or country), a sociocultural workforce, regulations and contract terms and conditions that could affect operations. Prichard (2004) notes that all risk elements must be addressed during the planning stage to assign required control to respon-sible members in the project team. My practical experience also shows that contracting strategic decision making in construction SH&E manage-ment during planning helps produce successful SH&E performance.
Without effective safety and health planning, implementation will be poor, resulting in a loss of control, which will consequently lead to incidents, injuries, illnesses and fatalities. Such occurrences send negative messages to organization stakehold-ers and can eventually affect reputation, resulting in a loss of customers and ultimately driving the organization out of business (U.K. Health and Safety Executive, 1997). It is worth noting that location-specific safety and health plans must be documented, communicated and accessible to all cadres of staff within an organization.
In Africa, challenges exist regarding effec-tive SH&E planning and the delivery of policies and procedures. For example, the implementation of SH&E policies, taking into account location-specific challenges. According to Pomeroy and Boyle (2010), “what works in one location can fail in another.”
Sh&e laWS & enForceMent Many African countries have recently made
tremendous progress to develop SH&E laws. Some good examples are Nigeria’s Occupational Health and Safety bill, which passed in 2012. Similar bills were passed in Cameroon in 2010 and in Zambia, Egypt, Benin, Mail, Tanzania and South Africa in 1993. All of these bills were passed without adequate provision and modality for enforcement (International Labor Organization, 2011c).
The lack of adequate monitoring modality affects successful SH&E management in African nations, leaving small- and medium-sized organizations with no justifiable reason not to allocate resources to drive safety and health within their businesses (International Labor Organization, 2011c). Under the U.K.’s Health and Safety at Work Act, all organizations are legally and morally responsible for protecting and promoting safety and health policy implementation for all workers, but in Africa, enforcement of safety and health policies is prevailingly ineffective. On the contrary, a study on multinational, national and local construction contrac-tors operating in Nigeria did not support that assertion. Godwin (2011) notes that organizational management
efforts in Nigeria toward safety and health regulations compliance is low, leading to increased incident rates. Lack of enforcement of these laws has a significant impact on the working conditions provided by an organi-zation (International Labor Organization, 2011c).
In the U.K., safety and health legislation is drawn up and enforced by a designated body referred to as Health and Safety Executive, as well as by local councils. The same applies in the U.S., where the Occupational Safety and Health Act is enforced by OSHA under the Department of Labor. Making a designated body respon-sible for enforcing and monitoring safety and health and safety leads to effective and compulsory planning by organizations. Organizations in the U.K. and U.S. are aware that any attempt to defy regulations may result in fines, which helps instill the idea that the cost of an inci-dent to the organization can be overwhelming and may possibly drive the organization out of business.
In Nigeria and other African countries, no clear desig-nated body is responsible for enforcing safety and health (International Labor Organization, 2011c). This is why enforcement of safety and health policies is relatively
Figure 1 Key Operation Processes for Maintaining an Injury-Free Workplace
Source: Health and Safety Executive U.K.
ineffective in Africa compared to industrialized nations (Health and Safety Executive, 1997).
Nevertheless, managers of some multinational organizations still promote and adhere to industry best practices as well as local safety and health guidelines regardless of enforcement capability in that country. To do so effectively, such establishments must have a better understanding of a country’s sociocultural needs (Abiodun, 2012).
proMotIng SaFety & health culture
Corporation-specific culture has been identified as an important consideration in an organization’s overall management success. Organizational culture is defined as a pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned while solving problems of external adaptation and internal integration. These shared ideas have worked well enough to be considered valid and are therefore presented to new workers as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to problems or risk inherent in company operations (Turnbeaugh, 2010). Organizational safety and health culture is identified as a subset of other operational processes and organizational systems (Cooper, 2002).
The absence of continued safety and health culture practices in an operational process or system nega-tively affects planning and imple-mentation (Abiodun, 2012). Safety and health awareness levels in all sectors of the Nigerian economy are relatively low. A similar level of awareness is likely found in other African countries with oil and gas resources. Based on this observation, changing the culture across all indus-try sectors in Africa is a challenge, considering that most African work-ers operate under informal enterprise with no formal knowledge of safety and health relevant to their trade.
Turnbeaugh (2010) notes that changing organizational culture is far more difficult than trying to understand organizational culture. Typically, an organization’s safety and health culture evolves over time based on training, management commitment, leadership drive and continual re-enforcement. Such a culture will be sustained through effective engagement, involvement and communication across all levels of the workforce (Abiodun, 2012).
A focused SH&E professional could facilitate the required cultural changes through a systematic behav-ioral safety approach despite all the barriers to improving safety and health culture. The objectives are to ensure that semi-skilled workers embrace SH&E culture and to make workers aware of their own unsafe behaviors (Cooper, 2002). Therefore, SH&E professionals need
to have the skills to confidently promote and implement SH&E best practices. These skillsets include:
•leadership commitment; •objectives/targets and policies;•ability to drive safe behavior concerning sociocul-
tural diversity; •communication;•relationship; •motivation.Above all, Roddis (2012) notes that to engage a
workforce and build relationships regarding safety and health issues, the SH&E professionals championing this course must be passionate and enthusiastic, and they must maintain a sense of purpose in establishing a safety culture that leads to desired results. Overall, the relative-ly low safety awareness observation and gaps identified in African work environments would be mitigated using the findings of Roddis and other researchers.
InFluencIng eFFectIve IMpleMentatIon Some of the most important tasks for an SH&E
professional are planning and communicating corpo-rate SH&E policy. Thus, an SH&E professional must complete corporate knowledge-based assessments and
understand the workforce to be able to adequately deliver SH&E training.
Once the overall corporate assessment is completed, the SH&E professional is confident and has acquired:
•an understanding of the organi-zation at all levels;
•knowledge of how best to com-municate and influence the work-force or its decision makers;
•implementation of vital SH&E tools for a results-oriented plan.
Based on the mentioned acqui-sition of competencies and deliv-ery of SH&E policy, responsible
SH&E managers confidently engage and communicate with staff at all levels of the organization during plan-ning. SH&E professionals have imbibed the findings of Pomeroy and Boyle (2010) by encouraging involvement, improving self-awareness and achieving commitment. These findings also indicate that SH&E professionals need to proficiently influence organization manage-ment and workers when seeking support for a change or strategic plan implementation. Such influence will increase the likelihood of acceptance and effective implementation across the organization (Pomeroy & Boyle, 2010). Therefore, it becomes very important to understand people and the sociocultural diversity that drives their emotions when making decisions (Roddis, 2012). Furthermore, Cialdini (2000) reiterates that an appreciable influence and communication approach is to demonstrate authority through organizational knowledge
28World Focus www.asse.org 2014
The absence of continued safety
and health culture practices in an
operational process or system negatively affects planning and
implementation.
29World Focus www.asse.org 2014
regarding how the plan can not only protect the health and well-being of people but also contribute to the orga-nization’s long-term strategies.
If adopted by African organizations, the findings of Roddis would help correct and sustain the relatively low safety awareness and gaps noted. According to Roddis (2012), safety professionals need to understand how their roles fit into the organization’s business, aligning safety and health objectives with the engagement and com-munication approach to ensure that SH&E fits into the strategic business plans. Furthermore, we need to work closely with other employees to deliver the planned strat-egies through a location-specific motivation program that creates an environment in which safety and health can be an important part of daily tasks.
plannIng & IMpleMentatIon: a practIcal approach
Based on literature review and my field experience, I have concluded that planning and implementation of organizational safety and health has resulted in the successful delivery of various construction projects in several sectors. Over the years, successful project execu-tion has been achieved and maintained by best practices. SH&E policies and procedures, as well as organizational culture, were implemented in each of the projects to ensure that there were zero incidents.
Planning is the key to ensure that an organization’s efforts in safety and health really work (Poon, Leung & Fung, 2003). Effective safety and health management involves setting objectives, identifying hazards, assess-ing risks, implementing standards of performance and developing a positive culture through engagement and effective communication. The resulting efforts promote the relevance and importance of safety and health in the establishment. However, a safety professional must identify and deliver corporation-specific SH&E policy objectives with enthusiasm and effectiveness to make a difference (Drebinger, 1997). Therefore, Griffith and Howarth (2001) note that effec-tive safety and health management demands a clear understanding, a sys-tematic approach and a sustainable commitment to improvement. One example of a systematic approach and sustainable commitment to improvement of policy objectives is the execution of the Bay Atlantic Building project in Nigeria.
caSe Study: bay atlantIc project
The Bay Atlantic (BA) Building project took into consideration all challenges associated with SH&E management in Africa and the imple-
mentation of Griffith and Howarth’s systematic approach (2001) demonstrates that SH&E management challenges in Africa can be overcome.
The project took place in an office complex made up of 10 stories, including a ground floor, mezzanine and nine upper floors, with a gross floor area of approximate-ly 11,000 square meters.
Contractors were required to complete work execu-tion as follows:
•Piling phase.•Main office building (ground floor, mezzanine level,
nine upper levels and associated utility structures. •Mechanical, electrical and plumbing installations.All work was planned to be completed within 27
months in compliance with required or applicable safe work methods and BA-specific SH&E management requirements. Safety and health delivery on the BA project was driven by the owner’s SH&E management processes, which kick-started with:
•Agreement to project SH&E objectives/targets by project managers.
•A review of all local and international safety and health laws/regulations applicable to the planned project.
•Development of procedures to address serious and imminent danger identified at the risk workshop.
•Agreement with management (sponsor) and project team on the Contractor pre-qualification and pre-tender SH&E plan requirement.
•Development of construction SH&E management plan.
•Initiation of community relations and engagement initiated with residence.
96%
4%
% Manhours Vs. Training Awareness
Overall Project Hours
Training & Awareness
63%
35%
1% 1%
%Training and Awareness Hours
Toolbox talk daily
Weekly Safety Mee�ng
Formal Trainning
Induc�on Trainning
Figure 2 Findings of the SH&E Systematic Approach Implemented
in Bay Atlantic Building Project
•Agreement on project SH&E communication flow with the team.
It is worthy to note that top management (the project sponsor) was visible throughout the planning process.
ImplementationAt this stage, a principal contractor, consultants and
subcontractors had been selected and a premobiliza-tion readiness checklist was initiated before the contract award and kick-off meeting. This was followed with:
•A letter of intent and invitation to the construction SH&E management workshop. The session was lead by the project sponsor, who communicated the following information:
-policies, organization SH&E goals, targets and expectations;
-project administration.•The project’s SH&E plan and contract SH&E
requirements were reviewed with the contractors. A key clause in the contract states that:
“Should contractor fail to observe the requirements of this Article 13, or fail to abate a hazardous condition within a reasonable time after being so instructed by BA, BA shall have the right to stop work being performed by contractor at worksite and to take any other affirmative action necessary to correct the condition on behalf of and to the extent the hazardous condition was caused by contractor or failure by contractor to observe the require-ments of this Article 13 all costs of such action will be from contractor’s account. BA shall promptly authorize contractor to resume the work upon correction or abate-ment of the hazardous condition.”
•The kick-off meeting was held and SH&E was listed first on the agenda to reinforce the SH&E requirement before mobilizing.
•The contractor SH&E plan was reviewed and signed off.
•Equipment was premobilized and contractor personnel competence was reviewed.
•Inductions. •Site establishment.•Training, including daily and
weekly toolbox talks.•Incentive program regarding haz-
ard observation reporting.Figure 4 presents the resulting per-
formance outcome on completion of the building project. It highlights the promotion of organizational SH&E culture resulting in zero incidents.
key SucceSS FactorS oF Sh&e IMpleMentatIon
The key success factors on this project include:
•Leadership commitment -Leadership team participation was noticed through-
out the project phases. For example: the eye campaign with 1000 units of eye goggles distributed after a toolbox session on eye safety with the workforce based on their observation during a site work through session.
-The organization’s quarterly board of directors meet-ings. To ensure that the board kept abreast of site activi-ties, they relocated their meetings venue to an onsite meeting room.
-The leadership team regularly conducted manage-ment walkthroughs at every meeting onsite. These visits reinforced the importance of safety for the contractors as well as the project team.
•Competent project SH&E professionals.•Communication and awareness training.•Effective contract SH&E requirement. •Engagement, including workforce-led hazard obser-
vation reporting. •Workforce motivation through incentives.•SH&E management assessment and audit.
concluSIon
The systematic approach completed on the Bay Atlantic Building project demonstrates that challenges inhibiting successful SH&E management in African operations can be mitigated and overcome by imbibing commitment to improve SH&E policy objectives.
Analysis of the construction project case study demonstrates that an investment of 4% to 5% of the total estimated work hours for training and awareness improves the workforce’s knowledge of safety and health, which drives culture change during the project
30World Focus www.asse.org 2014
Figure 4 The BA Project SH&E Performance Pyramid
31World Focus www.asse.org 2014
by involving workers with hazard observation reporting. It provides an example of how African organizations can execute projects with excellent SH&E performance despite the challenges noted.
Therefore, successful safety and health implementa-tion occurs due to effective planning with management commitment. However, SH&E professionals must pro-ficiently communicate and influence top management to demonstrate a commitment to the organization’s safety and health vision.
It is also clear that top management or sponsors active engagement on construction project drives workforce performance in the sociocultural Africa environment where leadership by example is a clear signal of the importance of safety. •
reFerenceS Abiodun, G.K. (2012). HSE policy formulation and
implementation: Role of managers in health and safety planning and implementation. Journal of the Nigerian Institute of Safety Professionals.
Cialdini, R.B. (2000). Influence: Science and practice (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Cooper, D. (2002). Human factors in accidents. Proceedings of the Institute of Quarrying, North of England CoalPro Seminar. Durham, U.K.: Ramside Hall.
Cooper, D. (2006). The impact of management‘s commitment on employee behavior: A field study. Proceedings of the 7th Professional Development Conference and Exhibition of ASSE’s Middle East Chapter. Kingdom of Bahrain.
Drebinger, J.W. Jr. (1997). Mastering safety com-munication: Communication skills for a safe, produc-tive and profitable workplace. Galt, CA: Wulamoc Publishing.
Geller, E.S. (2008). The Courage Factor. Virginia Beach, VA: Coastal Training Technologies Corp.
Godwin, I. (2011). Comparing occupational health and safety (OSH) management efforts and perfor-mance in the Nigerian construction industry. Journal of Construction In Developing Countries, 16(2) 151-173.
Griffith, A. & Howarth, T. (2001). Construction health and safety management. London, England: Longman.
International Labor Organization. (1992). Safety and health in construction: An ILO code of practice. Geneva, Switzerland: Author.
International Labor Organization. (2011a). Efficient growth, employment and decent work in Africa: Time for a new vision. Johannesburg, South Africa: International Labor Office and Employment Sector.
International Labor Organization. (2011b). Empowering Africa’s people with decent work. Proceedings from the 12th African Regional Meeting. Johannesburg, South Africa.
International Labor Organization. (2011c). XIX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work ILO introductory report: Global trends and challenges on occupational safety and health. Istanbul, Turkey: International Labor Office.
Pomeroy, J. & Boyle, T. (2010). Practitioner competence: Mind the gap. Safety & Health Practitioner, 28(12), 32-33.
Poon, S.K., Leung, K.T. & Fung, C. (2003). Factors affecting the planning and implementation of occupational health & safety man-agement system. Retrieved from http://158.132.155.107/oess/papers/safety-management-factors.pdf
Prichard R. (2004). Owner safety leadership. Retrieved from http://www.irmi.com/expert/articles/2004/prichard02.aspx
Roddis, P. (2012). Developing the profession: Brand of opportunity. Safety and Health Practitioner, 30(7).
Turnbeaugh, T.M. (2010). Improving business out-comes: Behavior–based safety techniques can influence organizational performance. Professional Safety, 55(3), 41-49
Health and Safety Executive. (1997). Successful health and safety management (2nd edition). Retrieved from http://www.mtpinnacle.com/pdfs/HR-OHS.pdf
Health and Safety Executive. (2011). Managing health and safety: Five steps to success. Retrieved from http://www.citb.co.uk/documents/awards/managing%20hands_tcm9_33234.pdf Kamildeen G. Abiodun is a health, safety and environmental professional with 12 years’ experience. Abiodun is a princi-pal health, safety and environmental engineer for DeltaAfrik Engineering Ltd. (a WorleyParsons group). In this role, he provides SH&E management supervision, including design, con-tractor selection and site execution, for the Bay Atlantic Tower. Previously, he was a project safety engineer with ETA-ASCON for a Business Bay infrastructural development project in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he provided SH&E management and training for a multinational workforce of more than 300.
Abiodun is the 2013-14 president-elect of ASSE’s Nigeria Chapter and coordinator of the chapter’s 2014 Professional Development Conference. He is also a member of Nigerian Institute of Safety Professionals, Institution of Occupational Safety and Health and Nigerian Environmental Society. He holds a Chemical Science degree from the University of Agriculture in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and a master’s degree in Environmental Health and Safety Management from the University of Sunderland in the U.K.
Reprinted with permission from the proceedings of ASSE’s 2013 Professional Development Conference.
SH&E professionals must proficiently communicate and influence top management to demonstrate a commitment to the organization’s safety and health vision.
Thanks to all International Practice Specialty members and welcome to these new members. The practice specialty now has nearly 600 members. If you have any colleagues who might be interested in joining, please direct them to www.asse.org/JoinGroups for more information.
Group Inc.Glenn Spetta, MSC Industrial Inc.James Thorn George Vest Mrunal Vyas, William Grant & Sons
Inc.Kyle Wallick Roger Wiseneske •
Get to Know ASSE’s Health & Wellness Branch
Although ASSE’s Health & Wellness Branch is spon-sored by the Society’s Healthcare Practice Specialty,
the branch focuses on health and its impact on safety, rather than healthcare. As Deborah fell-Carlson writes in an informative article, “As safety professionals, we may not think about the fact that healthy, alert workers suf-fer fewer on-the-job injuries and recover more quickly when hurt. This can have significant impact on our workers’ compensation costs. Although it may be dif-ficult to measure the impact, we know that managing wellness and injury together is a win-win.”
The branch is eager to guide other safety profes-sionals to help shape worker attitudes, thinking and behaviors that may result in improved personal and global health and well-being. for more information on the branch and how to become involved, click here.
SucceSSIon plannIng For InternatIonal practIce SpecIalty leaderShIp
•International Practice Specialty has established more than 30 Advisory Committee members, including regional liaisons and subliaisons, to support members worldwide.
•To ensure continuity of the group’s activities, vision and mis-sion, we have established clear succession planning for all posi-tions.
I have truly enjoyed working with International Practice Specialty during the past 2 years and supporting our members. I thank all International Practice Specialty Advisory Committee members and ASSE Council on Practices and Standards staff for their support and guidance. •
SAFETY 2014 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE & EXPOSITION
June 8-11, 2014 | Orange County Convention Center West Building | Orlando, FL www.safety2014.org | 847.699.2929
Natalie Skeepers, South Africa
“Why would I travel so far to attend the conference? There are so many reasons . . . education, networking, social gatherings, international perspective, specialty discussions, exhibits, etc.”
Join your fellow safety professionals at the much-
anticipated Safety 2014 Conference. Experience
best practices, emerging trends, develop new
skills, build a powerful community of colleagues
and revitalize your passion for the profession.
You’ll come back refocused, revitalized, reconnected, READY.
