HSE & Sustainability

Risk-Based Review Looks at Removing the Burden From Voluntary HSE Programs

While implemented with the best intentions, most HSE programs bring an element of administrative burden. In 2017, Dyno Nobel examined how to remove or modify programs to be less of a burden without increasing risk. Just like in Jenga, the blocks must be moved without destabilizing the structure.

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In order to improve HSE performance, many companies have implemented voluntary (i.e., not driven by regulation) programs designed to engage supervisors and employees and reduce injuries and incidents. Over the years, these programs have had significant success in improving performance and making the workplace safer. While implemented with the best intentions, however, most programs introduce an element of administrative burden on the organization and sites. The cumulative effect on supervisors’ daily activities can be substantial and result in excessive time spent in front of a computer rather than with their teams. This means less opportunity to provide leadership on safety, undermining efforts to improve.

In 2017, based on a combination of employee surveys and safety stand-downs, Dyno Nobel North America (DNA), a global explosives manufacturer and service provider, identified the need to evaluate the burden on the organization of safety programs to rationalize and improve them as appropriate. One of the main concerns of this effort was how to remove or modify these programs to be less of a burden without increasing risk. This can be related to the game Jenga, where players remove blocks from a stack without destabilizing the structure.

DNA asked a consultant, The Jonah Group, to build a risk model based on the principles of process safety management interwoven with the understanding of human factors and performance. Once the model was built, it was piloted at three of the company’s field sites to ensure efficacy and be adjusted as necessary. Afterward, the model was used at nine field locations. The evaluation included a review of equipment, processes, and procedures and centered on interviews with supervisors and frontline employees. Surveys were conducted with supervisors to complete the view of where they spend their time.

Results and recommendations were summarized in a report. One of the key findings was that, while there were opportunities to improve certain elements of the voluntary safety programs, there were more significant opportunities regarding management of change, process safety and risk awareness, site safety leadership, communication, and process efficiency. The recommendations will help companies improve organizational effectiveness and free up supervisors to better oversee, and lead, site safety.

Find paper SPE 196052 on the HSE Technical Discipline Page free for a limited time.

Find paper SPE 196052 on OnePetro.

Paper presentation at the 2019 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition