Abstract
In September of 2019 Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) partnered with dss+ (formerly DuPont Sustainable Solutions) to launch an initiative to increase employee engagement and reduce the number of injuries. IOC had started an effort entitled “Courage to Care” and wanted to accelerate that program. Rather than taking a traditional assessment approach which would have delayed the impact, dss+ proposed an engagement process focused on increasing risk awareness of the workforce.
The approach utilized a core team of front-line employees from each operating area who were trained on risk awareness and then proceeded to map out the work process, identify risks, prioritize the risks and then develop mitigation strategies. Core team members led discussions with their peers, asking for input on various tasks, work methods, and perceptions of risk involved in these tasks and work methods. In the final step of the process the core team members presented their improvement strategies to leadership. This process identified risks which the organization had not previously identified.
When employees focus on how work is actually performed, they find new hazards, and are able to accurately estimate the risk (frequency and severity) of a potential incident. This analysis also surfaced risk reduction opportunities by making tasks more efficient (cost), easier to perform, while increasing the availability of equipment. Another cultural theme was that employees valued work completion, more than managing risk. The discussion of these risks provided leadership with an opportunity to reinforce that safety was more important than production.
The cultural journey for the Leadership team involved looking at how their role influences the culture. The change for Leadership was to take a supportive role rather than a leadership role in implementing the solutions. The improvements were led from front line Core Team, and priorities were escalated with strong solutions developed using an analysis of current controls.
Risk Aware Culture Transformation has helped create the foundation for a more risk aware organization by engaging the workforce and the leadership in a common effort to reduce operational risk. This approach fosters trust, improved communication, and collaboration. The benefits extend beyond improving safety performance, beyond providing tools to manage risk and implementing short interval solutions. As a neutral party (dss+) was able to quickly build trust and work with front line employees to share perspectives of risk through their lens. Front line employees developed capabilities to lead (by example), to identify and manage hazards and risk, to take ownership of managing risk, including being empowered to develop and implement solutions. Working in teams they created engagement, shared values, and organizational pride.
IOC, with guidance from Rio Tinto, is focused on four aspects of Safety Maturity
- Leadership and Engagement
- Learning and Improvement
- Risk Management
- Work Planning and Execution
IOC was very glad to report that May of this year was a record production month with no injuries! In this presentation we will share the key learnings with a focus on results and sustainment.