Changing Safety Culture A Case Study of our Journey at Terracon

Transcription

1 Changing Safety Culture A Case Study of our Journey at Terracon Presented by Michael J. O Grady, P.E. Executive Vice President National Director of Construction Materials Engineering and Testing

2 Overview Why another talk on Safety? The Case: Background The case for change The change process Execution Successes and Challenges

3 Why another safety talk? I am not a safety expert I am not going to introduce some new concept for a safety program Terracon did not have zero accidents last year Maybe understanding our challenges will help you, especially in keeping your employees safe (SCOAR) Forum for effective exchange of information, views, practices, and policies to help members improve their Business Operations

4 The first obstacle of change is getting people to accept that change is needed Source Unknown

5 Some Background Founded 1965 Geotechnical, environmental, construction materials, and facilities engineering, testing and consulting $380 MM annual revenue in $80 MM $300 MM Roughly 3,000 employees in >130 locations Project range: $2k to multi-million in fees Most of our employees spend some amount of time in the field (professionals, technicians, inspectors, drillers)

6 Safety at Terracon Have always been concerned about worker safety Have always had a safety program with plenty of policies, procedures, required safety training Every few years we would have some kind of safety program focus: Safety First Zero Accidents Back Off Lift Right Adopted as Core Value in Strategic Plan 2006

7 Safety but Always well intentioned; people still got hurt and our CEO came to characterize our safety culture as safety but. Safety but There is only so much we can do It is a personal responsibility Some amount of accidents are inevitable We don t control the project sites We built our reputation on getting the job done And

8 Playing the Victim Nearly 1,000 staff classified by NCCI as Analytical Chemists Kept our EMR > 1.0 May be true for 15% to 20% of them

9 Analytical Chemist

10 Analytical Chemist?

11 Does this look like a Lab?

12 Operating Lab Equipment

13 Preparing Lab Samples

14 Observing Findings

15 Documenting Findings

16 The Case for Change Nearly 300% growth over 10 years 2/3 organic and 1/3 acquisition growth Client base evolved significantly Pre- 99 predominantly commercial Post- 99 diversified across commercial, industrial, energy, and public sector EMR became more of an issue with our clients; used more and more as a measure of safety by our clients Good news: Got our attention Bad news: Spent more time explaining it away and not nearly enough on how to be safer

17 The Case for Change 2006 Core Value in Strategic Plan Initially more of a business case focus CEO attends roundtable with other CEOs focused on the human case: What is the true impact on the worker? Don t we all have a responsibility for each other? Don t we as management have a responsibility to make sure all of our staff go home safely? If we truly show Care and Concern for our people won t this help us make safety truly personal? Can t we have collateral benefits (quality, retention, financial, risk management)?

18 The Case for Change The Epiphany The first obstacle of change is getting people to accept that change is needed Source Unknown

19 The Case for Change - The Epiphany Senior Management still focused on: Lack of control Victimization Rationalization What is our responsibility as leaders We rationalize the small incidents We rationalize the major incidents

20 The Process Realized we needed outside help with the emphasis on change management not on new safety program We had plenty of policies and procedures and training tools we needed to go beyond check the box safety Make the process very deliberate

21 The Process Define what needs to change Formulate options Define process Readiness assessment Execute Plan Communicate Build Benchmarks/Milestones

22 Reasons Employees Don t Adapt to Change They don t know what they are supposed to do. They don t know how to do it. They don t know why they should do it. They think they are doing it (lack of feedback). There are obstacles beyond their control. They don t think it will work. They think their way is better. They think something is more important (priorities). There is no positive or negative consequence for them doing it (it doesn t matter). There is a negative consequence for them doing it. There is a positive consequence to them for NOT doing it. Fear (they anticipate future negative consequences). No one could do it. Source: Fournies. F. 2000

23 Execution Defining what needs to change Safety was a corporate department safety must be operations driven Everyone is accountable Sweat the small stuff (Broken Windows Theory) Formulate Options People focus not policy focus Define the process 2011: Rollout/Training focus 2012: Management focus 2013: Project Focus

24 Execution Readiness Assessment (late 2010) Survey to create baseline (70% participation) Get pulse of staff Where are we at overall with attitudes Execute Plan Workshop with 120 key senior leaders Q Developed 24 internal facilitators from line management Q staff through 4 hour orientation Q through Q staff through 8 hour supervisor workshop Q through Q Focus on Root Cause Analysis and Near Miss and understand how staff are getting hurt Focus on Pre-Task Planning and PM responsibility for safety 2013 Service lines focus on most at risk staff and most frequent injuries 2013

25 Execution Communicate Employee and family Frequently and consistently Communicate RCA s and Near Misses to all staff and get feedback from staff Internal Social Network 2013 Build Benchmarks and Milestones Initial Survey Q Pulse Survey Q Develop Metrics (hard and soft) Semi-Annual Surveys (10 questions soft metrics)

26 Successes Most well received initiative by staff that we have undertaken at Terracon Internal facilitators became champions for safety Communication of RCA s and Near Misses is appreciated by staff and getting a lot of feedback and ideas Staff speaking up and identifying unsafe issues and calling out employees working unsafe After initial increases in EMR and TRIR we are beginning to move the needle: EMR historically above 1.0 now below 1.0 TRIR historically above 2.0 now below 2.0 Have made great strides on reducing auto incidents

27 Challenges Still a challenge with 3,000 staff across 130 offices to get the message delivered consistently Management still struggling with trying to balance care and concern with accountability and discipline Educating PMs and staff on Pre-task planning and implementing it beyond complex projects and doing it daily

28 Pre-Task Planning is most proactive thing we can do in being safe!

29 Challenges Still a challenge with 3,000 staff across 130 offices to get the message delivered consistently Management still struggling with trying to balance care and concern with accountability and discipline Educating PMs and staff on Pre-task planning and implementing it beyond complex projects and doing it daily Overcoming the complacency factor, especially with so many staff on sites alone

30 I ve done it this way thousands of times!

31 Questions?