A Committment to Being a World Leader in Health, Safety and the Environment

In 2008, shortly after joining Technip Group, Technip Chairman Thierry Pilenko stated that his vision for Technip was to become a reference company for safety.  To accomplish this, the safety culture, perceptions, and behaviours of Technip needed to change, and Technip developed the Pulse program, which is a unique global HSE climate change program, designed and delivered by Technip.  This behavioural-based safety program works by showing how our own actions affect those around us, and it demonstrates how we all play a life-saving role as leaders of HSE’s best practices.  The Pulse vision is to embed health, safety, and the environment (HSE) as core values for life across Technip.  A positive shift in attitudes and behaviours will result when this is truly embraced and enacted by all; a successful realization of the vision, however, is dependent on the Pulse Program reaching and impacting everyone.  This can only be achieved by packaging the key messages in the most appropriate and relevant manner to meet the needs and requirements of all.

To start, Technip needed a reference point to judge how safety was perceived within the group.  In 2008, a Pulse Global survey was conducted to measure the current HSE climate and perceptions, and over 17,500 submissions worldwide came back. This is the largest data set of its type for the oil and gas industry.

One question that was asked in the Pulse Climate survey was “If your line manager was to fail in one of the following areas, which would they view as most serious?”  In this case, the answers were safety, schedule, budget, reputation, and environment, where it was revealed that 36 percent of the participants thought safety was the manager’s top priority; however, 64 percent thought it was something else!  Technip needed their people to realize that safety was a core value, which means priorities like schedule and budget, though important, should never come before safety.

With over 30,000 employees worldwide, it’s a huge task to change your safety culture. Nonetheless, any changes within Technip’s structure, procedures, rebranding, and creation of core values have all been a means to achieve the goal of becoming a reference company for HSE.  Values such as “Doing the Right Thing,” “Trusting the Team,” “Encouraging a Fair Return For All,” and “Building the Future,” all can be linked back to a better HSE culture and vision.

Locally embracing this safety vision was important to Technip in Canada, and they decided to take it further by launching a three-year journey toward safety excellence in 2011 with the safety campaign “Safe, Alive and Well.” Technip Canada has been committed to the local oil and gas industry, providing full engineering and project management for subsea projects in Atlantic Canada since 1997.  They have been fortunate that they have delivered numerous projects with a good safety record.  However, one must never become complacent, and when looking at ways to improve the safety of your people, there is always room for improvement.

One of the challenges faced in Canada is the integration of the local crews to the Technip vessels. To assist with the familiarization, the company developed an induction package and video which was sent to all joining crew members prior to mobilizing the vessel.  The induction package consisted of a booklet and video that outlined the scope of work to be performed for the 2011 offshore campaign.  It showed the project team how they played an important role in the successful completion of the work and explained their safety rights, reconfirming that safety was a Technip core value.  The induction package was well received by all, and due to its success, it will continue to be incorporated into future orientation programs.

A strong safety culture is not only on the job!  Safety is a mind-set that has to be embraced in all aspects of your life.  One must also think about the community and the families involved.

So how can Technip give back to the community and also teach others the importance of safety?  The sponsorship of the Techniplex, which is an indoor soccer facility, was one way that Technip felt that it could make an impact on the local community.  What better way to promote “Safe, Alive & Well,” especially when being active during the winter months in Newfoundland isn’t an easy task.  This facility promotes an active lifestyle which in turn means better health.  Being engaged in sports, creating lasting networks, and teaching children the benefits of safety through sports is one way to make better life choices.

Also, when we are in better health, we are able to make better safety decisions.  One of the theories that led the company to this finding was through the funding of the “Personal Safety Triad” paper which was researched and presented by Mike Wahl of Definitions.

The “Personal Safety Triad” is a theoretical model demonstrating the relationship between job safety, self-confidence, and personal health. Behavioural-based safety relies on individuals contributing insights to safe operations; however, when health and physical fitness are low, the worker’s ability to identify existing external risks involved with the job may not be recognized and falsely attributed to personal factors therefore compromising operations. Furthermore, individuals working in the industry have a greater reliance than their corporate counterparts on their physical status as a means of deriving self-confidence. This indicates that a reduced ability to perform tasks due to physical limitations is detrimental to confidence. Linked together it is apparent that the health of the worker and self-confidence are inter-related and can dictate involvement in behavioural-based safety. Through the “Personal Safety Triad,” Technip hopes to provide insights on how they and other organizations can address these challenges in the work place.

Through Pulse, a ripple effect has been created within Technip, both globally and locally.  It is changing perception and behaviours towards the importance of HSE.  Through leadership and communications, the company hopes to inspire change in attitudes, behaviour, and actions to attain the highest level of safety performance.  Over 10,000 people have participated in Pulse sessions, which have also been expanded to their suppliers and embraced by some of their clients.  Safety is one of Technip’s strongest core values, and Technip will continue to push forward to become a reference company for HSE.