Elliott Incident Analysis: Safety Culture and Management Failures

Elliott Company ICAAMC 2011 The world turns to Elliott

The Incident Elliott Field Services, Project Manager, employed 30 months Burn to upper left leg while checking for steam condensate from low point drain. Steam trap was removed by operations while Elliott Crew was on break. 2 The world turns to Elliott

Immediate Facts Work had become critical path for T/A completion, customer under high pressure to complete work that night. This was the third warm up and start up of this unit (each a separate event). Previously, these issues were addressed by removing a brass disk on the top of the traps and the lines were reconnected. During this start-up, operations removed the steam trap entirely exposing an open steam line in the work area. The steam trap removal occurred while the Elliott crew was on break, and was not communicated by operations to the Elliott team. Elliott team did not question operations of any changes that took place while they where on break. Per normal Elliott start-up procedure, a visual inspection at gang drain is done to insure proper steam flow conditions are occurring (no condensate) This necessitated access to the area within the expired barricade tape to check the drains. The injured employee was conducting this inspection when he was injured. 3 The world turns to Elliott

Indicators Of A Larger Problem Elliott employee did not see fault in his action Blame was placed on the customer. Informed by PM that this are common issues as customers begins to push to meet completion. 4 The world turns to Elliott

One on One Interviews Interview Personnel How would you respond when a customer creates a dangerous situation? Do we have a safety culture? Do you feel you have management support? Do you feel comfortable walking away from a job? 5 The world turns to Elliott

Information Gathering Results From Interview Most felt they must own the job site if a customer is lacking a safety culture. All felt we had a strong safety culture due to the amount of training. Employee felt they where on there own when it came to the field but they did have some support from management. None believed they had the support to stop work or even walk away from a job. 6 The world turns to Elliott

Where We Failed as Management We assumed we had a good safety culture due to our safety records. (good or lucky) We had the support but was it making it to the field. Lack of training. 7 The world turns to Elliott

Communicate Conducted One-on-One phone discussions with Project Managers and Field Reps. Own the site. Safety stand down under hazardous circumstances. Unless the clients standard goes above and beyond we follow the Elliott process. We have full support of CEO. 8 The world turns to Elliott

Training Conduct Elliott Safety Training Awareness and Risk Reduction Techniques Include a script on conflict resolution for the Project Managers and Field Reps. To aid in managing customers who push back on safety Inclusion of interview discussion items 9 The world turns to Elliott

Policy for Inactive Customers Always lead by example you see it, you own it! Set the tone for the job early. These customer s will tend to push back harder than others. Complete refusal on the customer s part to correct an unsafe or hazardous situation is not acceptable. Stop work and contact your manager. 10 The world turns to Elliott

Results Elliott Reps and Sales Engineers will refuse work if they feel a customer site is unsafe. Employees have owned the process and continue to challenge customers on safety. Customers have given positive feedback for from these situations. We found most customer what to create a safe work environment they just do not always know how. 11 The world turns to Elliott

How do we put Safety at the Forefront Job Analysis Cards Starts the day thinking about safety and hazard ID Site Rating System provides site awareness prior to arrival Involve customers in our safety meetings Take advantage of opportunities to establish yourself with regards to safety. Always be grateful when approached or corrected. If you re not sure, ASK! When thinking about the safest way to do something schedule has no place. Play a proactive role in safety within our business and at our customer sites. Get involved in our safety initiatives, programs, and other efforts. 12 The world turns to Elliott

Moving AHEAD Traditional versus Behavior based Signs / slogans ( Safety is No Accident ; Safety First ) Safety glasses Fire drills, fire exits, extinguishers Complying with regulations Directives to eliminate Lost-Time Accidents Accident Prevention No-Injury lunches Mfg Engineering: guarding around equipment; buyingsafer eqpt Metrics: Results (Days without Injury, TRIR) Hazard identification Hazard / risk elimination, reduction, isolation, etc Job Hazard analyses Broad participation in changing behaviors INCIDENT Recognition / Incentives tied to risk reduction Mfg Engrg: Lower-risk work processes, procedures, methods Metrics: Preventive actions Hazards identified Actions to reduce hazards 13 The world turns to Elliott