Canadian Occupational Safety

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 17 SAFEST S afety managers at Calgary-based Weatherford Canada want all new workers to know they have the right to stop work. That's a central theme of Right Start, the two- day orientation that new hires attend. "It really comes down to trying to create a culture where it's okay to refuse unsafe work," says Dave Reed, vice- president for Canada at Weatherford. "Everybody has to take Right Start. It doesn't give you any tools necessarily to do your job better. What it does is lay out expectations about how Weatherford operates. And one of the things we talk a lot about in Right Start is not putting yourself at risk." Safety training at the oil and gas service company, which has about 1,600 employees, encourages workers to watch and inter- vene when they see others performing unsafe work. It makes it clear, too, that it's acceptable to "self-intervene," to take a few min- utes to re-think a job or tell a supervisor, "I need a break." Reed says it's important for workers to have confidence in the decisions they make — particularly because the company has many new employ- ees, including newcomers, who may be reluctant to speak up. Weatherford is working hard on its mentorship program. Employees are considered short-service employees for a mini- mum of six months unless they have completed a competency assessment by a qualified assessor. The program was developed as a result of too many injuries with these employees, Reed says. All employees have a responsibility to help supervise and keep new employees safe. At every toolbox meeting, workers are reminded to "Take five." Before each new task, they must stop for a few minutes and consider what the steps are, who's doing it and what the hazards are. "Every time you're going from one task to another, make sure you stop and engage that brain," says Frank Urquhart, quality, health, safety and environ- ment manager. "When you do this (work) day in and day out, it's very easy to become complacent." A few years ago, the safety team added an interactive element to pre-job hazard assessments by replacing the morning toolbox meeting — in which workers simply reviewed pre-printed information — with job hazard assess- ment boards. Every morning, the shop lead gathers workers and together they write down the task, hazards and controls. At the end of the day, the board is erased. "It gets everyone engaged and talking first thing in the morning," Urqu- hart says. A leadership commitment program aims to hold senior managers account- able for safety by requiring them to lead safety meetings and participate in near-miss observation programs. Safety performance is reviewed every two months to see if targets have been met. Senior managers use Verified App, a smartphone tool developed by Weather- ford that includes four standards the company wants to improve upon, which are rotated annually. As they tour shops and rig sites, the managers can use the app to ask questions to ensure workers are following the standards. The app helps managers engage the understanding of front-line staff, Urquhart says. Before long breaks, such as the Christmas holiday, when distractions are unavoidable, senior managers visit work sites and remind workers of the impor- tance of following procedures. "In the industry, Q1 and Q4 of each year is when we have a lot of incidents, so it's key to keep the mind on task through these holiday seasons," Urquhart says. Over the last few years, Weatherford has worked hard on its safety culture and to engrain in workers the importance of not putting themselves at risk, Reed says. "But it doesn't change overnight," he explains. "It's a long road that we're on. And we continue to push on in that direction." OIL AND GAS GOLD EMPLOYERS SAFEST 2017 CANADA'S recognized for their contributions to improving safety and the airline's environ- mental impact. The reports go to the central investigations group, which analyzes and classifies every incident or hazard and determines whether it can drive change. Adding muscle to the culture is a harmonious union-management relation- ship, marked by caring and collaboration. Captain Rod Campbell, representative of the Airline Pilots Association, gets feedback from pilots and facilitates commu- nication with management. As the employee co-chair of the policy committee, he also serves on company-wide health and safety policy meetings, chaired alter- natively by management and employees. "One example of collaboration is testing a new headset for pilots that provides the proper hearing protection, safety and comfort," he says. "This was a joint effort of the company, union and health and safety department." Since pilots are responsible for safe departures, landings and operations, they and their crew adhere to strict standard operating procedures — a well-oiled machine in which roles and actions are clear and everyone relies on each other for safe operation, says Campbell. The company also maintains on-call managers if pilots need to consult. To stay current, pilots spend four days a year on a simulator, conduct annual route checks and have regular medical exams. Beyond operations, the safety system includes health and fitness policies and an employee assistance program. Pervasive communications are another hall- mark of the safety system. In addition to publishing a magazine featuring safety stories by and about employees, the company uses social media proactively and is working on moving safety briefings from paper format to iPads. Last year, with a rate of 0.16 lost-time injuries in 100, was the company's best ever — and a drop of 50 per cent from 2015. "There are no shortcuts to safety," says Palmer. "It's a long journey and a con- tinuous improvement effort." SILVER Flomax Compression SILVER SILVER Pronghorn Controls Techmation Electric & Controls We scoured the country for companies that stand out when it comes to safety, wellness, psychological safety, young worker safety and overall culture — and we found them. The winners of the seventh annual Canada's Safest Employers awards went through a rigorous process, including being vetted for worker fatalities and safety-related prosecutions or convictions in the past five years; administering an employee safety perception survey that has a high threshold for participation and positive response; and standing up to the high standards of our independent expert panel of judges. Visit www.safestemployers.com to watch exclusive videos of the winners and learn more about the awards.

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