Safer by Competence

Dave Gazzard, SHE manager with Midland Quarry Products, discusses the company’s journey from ‘worst in class’ to ‘best in class’ during the period from c2000 to the present day

At the turn of the millennium Midland Quarry Products (MQP) were one of the worst performers in the quarrying industry with regard to injury, incidents and behavioural safety culture. Prior to the year 2000, MQP’s flagship superquarry in Leicestershire (Cliffe Hill) was experiencing 96 non-lost-time incidents (NLTIs) and 12 serious lost-time incidents (LTIs) per year. Near hits were an unknown quantity at this time but more than likely ran into hundreds, and the company was just recovering from an unfortunate fatality. Bottom of the class was not where MQP wanted to be.

However, fast-forward just over 10 years to 2011 and MQP are now one of the best performers in the industry. Cliffe Hill Quarry has achieved more than eight years without an employee LTI and three-and-a-half years since a contractor LTI, with NLTIs running at just two per year. The site has won a number of MPA safety trophies, culminating in the John Crabbe award for excellence in 2010, and has been host to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and industry leaders.

So, what miracle happened? Were the pioneers of this change lucky or was the transition from ‘worst’ to ‘best in class’ planned, as shown on the statistical graph/timeline (fig. 1).

How did MQP achieve such a remarkable turnaround in their cultural safety behaviour during the last decade? First, it is necessary to turn to Anglo American’s vision of OTTO – Zero Tolerance Target Zero – and the safety leadership and behavioural change they brought to the quarrying industry in their pursuit of Zero Harm. Anglo American’s bedrock or guiding principals for Zero Harm (OTTO) are the same today as they were back in January 2000:

• Get the basics right
• Get the engagement/communication right
• Get the competence of employees and contractors right.

A key element of achieving Zero Harm (OTTO) was the education and training of all team members, including contractors, so that they became accountable for their actions when at work. This aligns with the Mineral Products Association’s (MPA) vision of ‘Safer by Competence’ and the drive towards a ‘Competent Assured Workforce’.

A key element in this was the appointment of a competent and experienced SHE manager at senior level to manage and plan the company’s behavioural change process, and to work with key operational and executive personnel.

The support of MQP’s joint-venture parent companies (Hanson and Tarmac) through their own health and safety strategies – ‘Working Together - Safety Matters’ and OTTO (Zero Harm) – was also essential if MQP’s own plans for behavioural change were to be successful. Both parent companies were extremely supportive, sharing best practice and root-cause analysis, disseminating safety alerts and encouraging involvement in their ‘Safety Matters’ working groups.

A HSE culture survey carried out in 2000 identified MQP’s strengths and, in particular, weaknesses, such as risk taking, poor team work, claims mentality and lack of awareness and accountability, to name but a few. It was obvious that a structured, risk-based education and training regime was needed, so MQP embarked on their first ‘crusade’ towards Zero Harm for all team members.

The company’s ‘Safer by Competence’ programme was designed to improve the knowledge and awareness of hazards and risks for ‘at risk’ trades. Individuals should understand the limits of their capabilities and be able to actively participate in the risk-management process and decision-making in order to minimize exposure to injury and ill health. Improvements to site-supervision skills and risk-management awareness were enhanced through all ranks of management attending the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) ‘Managing Safely Courses’.

All incidents were investigated by root-cause analysis to prevent reoccurrence and to provide opportunities for further learning. A ‘carrot and stick’ approach was also implemented with regard to adherence to rules and procedures. Team members were rewarded for safety and behavioural improvements, an approach which continues to this day under MQP’s current managing director.

At the end of the company’s first three-year ‘People – Culture Change Event Plan’ the improvement to injury incident statistics was clear, as shown by the statistics in figure 1 and by a follow-up HSE ‘culture survey’ which showed similar improvements.

Once the company had re-established the ‘Back to Basics’ bedrock for ‘Zero Harm’, it then embraced, from 2002/3, the MPQC National Vocational Award (NVQ) Level 2 in mobile plant and process operations, followed by the Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) NVQ Levels 3 to 5 awards for all management grades.

The ‘Safer by Competence’ programme was further strengthened by MQP’s delivery drivers achieving the MPQC driver skills card. The company’s approved contractors were also encouraged to obtain the Quarry Safety Passport and to ensure that their team members were also engaged in the competence assured process, with many opting for NVQs.

A risk-based training-needs matrix, based on essential skills required to carry out team members’ duties safely, resulted in the delivery of further MPQC courses, such as geotechnics, blasting, silica awareness, confined spaces and working at height. Quite often MQP acted as the pilot for such schemes.

As team members became better educated and trained in minimizing risk and not working beyond their capabilities, MQP had to turn to other indicators to measure behaviour and potential injury incidents. The lead indictor selected was the reporting and root-cause analysis of ‘near hits’, which commenced in 2008/9.

At the same time, the company introduced positive intervention through workplace safety observations to observe safe behaviours and ‘nip’ unsafe behaviours in the bud. Engagement and dialogue with team members was further reinforced through regular workplace forums held by the current managing director, together with safety ‘Stand-Down Days’.

The willingness of MQP’s parent companies, Hanson and Tarmac, to continue to support these efforts was welcomed. Panels of Inquiry were introduced from Hanson; these enforced the ‘no-blame culture’ and involved wider team member participation in arriving at solutions and delivering a commitment to behavioural change. Similarly, improvements to MQP’s ‘root-cause’ problem-solving techniques were borrowed from Tarmac. The MPA would call this ‘Safer by Sharing’.

During the last three years MQP have accelerated the move from being rule or prescriptive based, to being competence led with team members having a voice and the right to say ‘no’ and to ‘abstain from risk’. Toolbox talks and briefings are held monthly under the ‘People – Culture Change Events’ banner.

All training needs are now completely risk based, with skills (competence) matrix and role profiles developed to give better direction and value for money, and to allow CPD evidence to be obtained and recorded for the Institute of Quarrying’s CPD Scheme. 

Team members exposed to risk, such as engineering trades, expect and receive the skills needed to work safely.

The end of the decade culminated in MQP being awarded the John Crabbe trophy for excellence in safety and hosting an industry-led visit to Cliffe Hill by Judith Hackitt CBE, chair of the HSE.

The current emphasis on team members having a voice, recognizing their own limits and not working beyond their capabilities will continue to drive the company forward. 

Moving into the next decade, MQP have the determination to reach ‘Zero Harm’ and are looking towards the continuing professional development of their supervisory and management team. Signing up to the Institute of Quarrying’s Corporate Professional Competence (CPC) scheme represents the company’s ongoing commitment to being a safe employer and a safe business partner.

The company is now moving into new territory where it wants competent, engaged team members who are ‘unconsciously safe’ and who can make the right ‘safe’ decisions with limited supervision and referral (see fig. 2).

Of course, ‘Safer by Competence’ was only one of many key elements in MQP’s planned approach towards Zero Harm, the other essentials being:

• Get the basics right (do it right first time, every time, within your capability)
• Get the engagement/communication right (involve all stakeholders)
• Reward and praise (say thank you)
• Incidents not accidents (all events have causations)
• Positive interventions (get out and about to identify poor behaviour)
• Root-cause analysis carried out (investigate thoroughly)
• Reduce compensation claims (save cash – reduce premiums)
• Get the design of plant and equipment right (Safer by Design).

MQP believe a ‘Competent Assured Workforce’ is the key to the company’s continuing success – it could be key to the success of your company too.