Improving operational safety culture and performance with Salym Petroleum Development
How an onshore oil and gas operation achieved a stable safety performance amid a surge in operational activities
78%
improvement in LTI rate
Challenge
Salym Petroleum Development N.V. (SPD) is a joint venture between Shell, and Russian oil company, Gazprom Neft. The company is engaged in the exploration and production of oil from Western Siberia through secondary and tertiary enhanced oil recovery and third-party supported gas utilization.
SPD had implemented several initiatives to improve operational safety. Great progress had been made in some areas. However, despite people’s best intentions many of the initiatives didn’t create the desired impact, with minimal change to safety culture and results. Company leaders were dissatisfied with an injury rate which was unacceptably high to them. A planned increase in well drilling and servicing, as well as extensive infrastructure construction, posed additional risks which SPD knew would impact its people and processes. The future aspirations of the business were being adversely affected by its personal and process safety performance. Shareholders had refused to support some proposed projects as confidence was low that SPD could conduct and execute these safely. SPD needed to see a return on its investment of time, money and effort in the form of improved safety performance and operational effectiveness.
Solution
In partnership with SPD, JMJ carried out an in-depth assessment of the operating structure and its unique business challenges through interviews across each business area. The conclusions helped SPD understand its operational and safety leadership culture and develop a roadmap achieve its goals. The approach included the entire team working in Salym group both field and office based. To start the shift to an aligned safety culture:
- JMJ led engagement workshops with senior management and key contractors/subcontractors
- Leaders committed to changing safety performance and leading by personal example
- Safety days facilitated by JMJ trained session leaders were held in the field and offices to make safety personal, relevant and important
- Shaped the organizational vision with local leadership
Client Goals
- Create an aligned vision at all levels, including contractors and subcontractors, as well as coordinated action
- Increase safety performance and vastly reduce lost time incident (LTI) rate to below 0.4
- Change shareholders’ perceptions so they see SPD as a safe and trusted company
- Form a culture where everyone in the organization consciously owns and proactively leads safety
- See employees continually develop and grow, as well as lead and promote, the safety vision
My personal involvement in the IIF safety approach was very important. It demonstrated my personal safety commitment as well as showing people that it’s not just another business initiative the CEO is trying to push…In some situations it took the support of JMJ to guide us in the initiatives and me offering my personal assurance that we are going to do it the way they think we should be doing it.
There is clear evidence Incident and Injury-Free is about operational efficiency and not just safety.
Results
JMJ’s Incident and Injury Free™ (IIF™) safety approach transformed leadership’s relationship to the workforce. They now listened to and valued the views of employees and contractors. The workforce felt a new level of empowerment to speak up and make operational and safety improvement suggestions. SPD’s leaders, workforce and contractors found themselves in a place where personal commitment and an understanding of your value and contribution to the success of the company became commonplace. Safety became a value, as well as a priority at SPD. The workforce routinely intervened in unsafe situations with full support from the leadership team.
The impact on safety, efficiency and performance were significant. Notably, the most recent planned shutdowns completed on time, within budget and with zero injuries or incidents.
Key takeaways
- Leaders set the culture of an organization and culture sets safety
- Understanding current perspectives is a critical first step to developing a culture transformation roadmap
- Leadership and communication with employees, contractors and subcontractors at all levels of your organization is a critical step to becoming an aligned, committed and sustainable safety organization
78% improvement
In lost time injury frequency rate, from 0.9 to 0.2
78% reduction
In high potential incidents, from 23 to less than five
74% reduction
In time to bring a well on-stream