Safety Leadership Class:Exploring Safety Excellence

Dave TaylorProgram Manager

Stoller-Navarro Joint VentureNovember 2007

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

~~ General George Patton

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Stoller Navarro Joint Venture

Joint Venture formed in 2004 to provide environmental engineering and support services to the Environmental Management Office at the Nevada Test Site

Overview of Scope Site Characterization

Site Remediation

Groundwater Modeling

Baseline Management

Staffing ~ 150 Associates

Annual Budget ~ $20M

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Introduction: History

In 2005, working with DOE Management, it became apparent the culture and expectations regarding safety and decision making needed a makeover

Large influx of support staff

New managers in many positions

Variety of cultural perspectives on “success”

Key Objective: Engage the whole organization in a dialogue about safety and leadership

Review of incidents from the preceding two years identified seven safety culture emphasis areas

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The Powerof Teams

Safety Culture Emphasis Areas

Responsibility and Accountability

Priorities?

Turnover

QuestioningAttitude

Two-Way Communication

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What Will You See Today?

“Sample of the Class” (e.g., video clips, discussion groups)

Recap of class content/highlights

What results did we see?

Where are we going next?

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“… At My Signal ...”

Gladiator, 2000

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Why a Safety Leadership Class?

Provide the opportunity to better understand the expectations of leaders in the Joint Venture

Provide an open, fault-free forum to examine and improve our approach to safety and leadership

Emphasize key areas of the SNJV Safety Culture Initiative

Assist in reducing potential for incidents, accidents, and/or illnesses

“We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” Max DuPree

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Leadership Class Structure

Training is conducted by the Program Manager and Direct Reports. Leadership attends every class!

Video clips reinforce the emphasis areas

Staff involved in actual incidents/events lead the interactive discussions

DOE staff were active participants

“Leadership is everyone’s job in a superior safety culture.”

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Class Example

Responsibility and Accountability

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“Everybody in the room was smart — everybody’s just doing their job — and Teresa Peron’s dead.”

Absence of Malice, 1981Responsibility and Accountability

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- Unsafe acts, short cuts

- Near miss, minor injury

- Fatality

- Serious injury

Accident “Pyramid”

“Absence of Malice”

Responsibility and Accountability

600600

30303030

1010

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Some studies show humans make nearly 2,000 errors per day!

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Ensure you comply with procedures

“Speak up”

Be supportive, compassionate, and “just”

Follow through on commitments

Monitor for and correct unsafe behavior

Be willing to make tough decisions Initiate disciplinary actions when required

Say “no” when needed – say “yes” when you can!

What are the Expectations?

Responsibility and Accountability

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“… He’s a nice guy, he just forgot about the rules …”

Absence of Malice, 1981

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Use the best people to build the plan

Listen carefully

Be flexible

Collaborate

Decide, then act — don’t react!

Be honest and live with your decisions

Responsibility and AccountabilityThings To Remember

“The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.” ~ Ray Kroc, Founder of McDonald's

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Recap of

Class Segments

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The Powerof Teams

Safety Culture Emphasis Areas

Responsibility and Accountability

Priorities?

Turnover

QuestioningAttitude

Two-Way Communication

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Recap

Responsibility and Accountability Focus on what needs

to be done Put attention on

decisions and accountability

Your people are in your care!

The Power of Teams Actively seek worker

input Recognize needs and

value of workers — collaborate

“Strength of the Pack …”

The Powerof Teams

Responsibility and Accountability

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Recap

Questioning Attitude See the world as

constantly changing

Be a “healthy skeptic”

Trust but verify

Ask Three Deep

Communication Encourage suggestions —

and challenges — to your ideas (not your authority … there is a difference!)

Practice three-way communication: “Speak-Listen-Repeat”

QuestioningAttitude

Two-Way Communication

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Turnover/Handoffs Take the time to really

understand “Walk it” Use task-specific

checklists Trust — but verify!

Priorities Priorities start in the

planning process Safety means

focusing on the work

The paper is an aid, not the solution — think!

Follow-Through Make follow-through a priority If it’s not documented, it did not happen! Remember, the dragon always comes back!

Priorities?

Turnover

Recap

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Safety Leadership Principles

Accidents are preventable

Up-front planning is essential to success

Leadership must promote active participation, communication, and coaching

Roles and responsibilities must be clear

All personnel are held accountable for actions

No “miracle” solutions exist

Safety is a key component of business success

Leaders “walk the talk”

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Leadership Concepts

Defining Personal Commitments The following is designed to be discussed with

your line manager as part of this year’s performance planning:

I will improve my leadership skills by:

One action I will take to demonstrate my personal commitment to safety is:

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

Edmund Burke, British politician (1729-1797)

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Summary

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Safety Leadership Results

Communicated a common set of expectations Created a common language Personalized key Lessons Learned Demonstrated better decision making Questions were raised (and resolved) earlier

In 2007, more than 200 individual leadership and safety initiatives were successfully accomplished by SNJV Associates!

Zero Accidents for more than two years … On the way to 1 million hours without a Lost Workday

Case …

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What’s Next in FY08?

Reinforce the Safety Culture Emphasis Areas Fresh examples (and video clips!)

VPP application

Integrate Safety Leadership classes/materials into new-hire orientation

Retool the systems to support the values (e.g., assessments, lessons learned, corrective action)

Zero Accidents … Zero Unplanned Events!

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Special Thanks

All the Associates at Stoller-Navarro Joint Venture would like to extend a special thanks to the DOE Nevada Test Site staff for their cooperation, support, and commitment to achieving an excellent safety culture.

Special thanks to: Steve Mellington

(DOE Assistant Manager EM)

Janet Appenzeller-Wing (DOE Deputy Assistant Manager EM)

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Questions?