Safety culture transformation in a complex, multicultural environment
The Escravos Gas-to-Liquids (EGTL) facility overcame environmental challenges and an inexperienced workforce to achieve significant safety milestones
150 days
Without a recordable incident
Challenge
The Escravos Gas-to-Liquids Facility (EGTL) is a multi-billion USD project situated in the western Niger Delta and Escravos regions of Nigeria. The construction faced numerous hurdles due to its swampy terrain, remote environment, and lack of modern infrastructure. The local workforce was largely unskilled and unfamiliar with safety regulations in the oil and gas industry. Tensions among local communities arising from past conflicts, along with cultural differences among a diverse group of international contractors, further complicated the project. These complex challenges led to safety issues which had caused the project to be halted several times.
Solution
A customized IIF program was designed to align with the site’s unique characteristics and cultural context. JMJ conducted commitment workshops involving leaders at various levels, including senior leaders and local subcontractors, to establish a strong foundation for the safety approach. In addition, IIF Train the Trainer sessions and introductory safety workshops were conducted for all project workers, ensuring broad engagement. An IIF
leadership structure was introduced, comprising three tiers: the IIF leadership team, area teams, and IIF coordinators, responsible for developing and executing the project’s safety strategy across different disciplines and geographic areas.
Despite noticeable improvements in safety commitment, the project still faced challenges stemming from diverse languages and cultures. Addressing these challenges led to the implementation of “IIF in Action”. This innovative approach focused on enhancing engagement at three levels: guiding managers in leadership, coaching supervisors to serve as IIF coaches, and coaching workers in applying the commitment to safety in practical contexts. This improved communication among the site’s workforce and provided essential tools and skills to effectively apply IIF while breaking down language, cultural, and hierarchical barriers.
Client Goals
- Ensure everyone on the project goes home safely every day
- Bring a workforce with little to no exposure to a worksite up to speed on how to work safely
- Build the plant within cost and schedule
- Ensure everyone on the project (including nationals) felt comfortable using stop work authority
- Establish an Incident and Injury Free™ (IIF™) mindset to build EGTL safely
- Integrate multiple contractor approaches to safety into a coherent project-wide approach
- Target local communities and develop workforce for future projects
- Coach supervisors to improve field management
"With a consistent drive for IIF safety and the associated culture change, we have been able to achieve a truly world-class safety record. This is especially gratifying when you look at the level of technical and safety culture competency that we started from."
Results
A massive collective effort involving open dialogue between project teams and the workforce, resolution of high-conflict situations, a shift in culture towards proactive safety practices, regular safety assessments, and effective cross-cultural communication, resulted in a complete transformation of the safety culture within a span of five years. At one point, the EGTL project ranked as Chevron’s best-performing project without a lost time injury (LTI).
Key takeaways
- Safety culture transformation is achievable even in the most challenging environment when there is a commitment from all levels of the
organization - With the right strategies and training, cultural and language barriers can be overcome, creating a cohesive and safety-conscious workforce
- Successful safety improvements require a collective effort involving all project teams and the workforce
- Open dialogue and the resolution of conflicts play crucial roles in creating a safer work environment
Significant incident-free periods
150 days without a recordable incident
Safety milestones achieved
41.5M worker hours without absence
Shift in safety culture
Safety became a matter of pride across the site