Positive Safety Cultures For the last 10 years we have been working with companies to help them create a safer culture and reduce accidents in their workplace.  Our involvement began in the Oil & Gas industry as part of the Step Change in Safety Initiative following the publication of the Cullen Report after the Piper Alpha disaster. Since then we have worked extensively across the world in many sectors including rail and construction, designing workshops and long-term programmes that engage individuals in examining their personal relationship with safety.  This involves a change in safety values, beliefs about safety, personal attitudes to safety and safety behaviour and actions. This has been a real learning journey for us and we are continually refreshing our approach and the content of our workshops and programmes. So . . .what's at the heart of a positive safety culture? Well, the short answer is three-fold: Genuine and personal commitment from all of the Senior Management Team - not just operations.  If leaders are modelling the behaviour expected and are supporting the systems and processes that make up the Safety Management System then the rest of the organisation is in no doubt about what 'good looks like''. A robust behaviour-based safety system that includes observation processes and is understood and owned by everyone in the organisation. The most critical element - a personal commitment to bringing a zero-incident safety culture to life. This is developed  firstly on increasing self-awareness and the impact we have as individuals on the safety of others, and secondly on fuelling the intrinsic motivation of caring for other people. Our involvement starts with helping organisations establish their starting point, using many of the excellent survey tools and models available. We work with the leadership team to build alignment and commitment to change - their own beliefs and behaviour first and then the culture of the organisation.  We work with operational teams, safety coaches and individuals right across the company to help implement the changes required and provide support to coaches and leaders to ensure that the change is sustainable.  The principle of caring for each other underpins everything we do. Keeping Safety Messages Fresh When it comes to designing effective safety training programmes, looking for fresh ways to engage with people is vital to success. making new connections The cry of ‘Not another new initiative’ used to be the fear of many organisations when attempting to introduce new tools or approaches in safety. With the current environment of shortage of skilled workers, high-turnover of people and more individuals from overseas working in multi-lingual teams, there is a continual emphasis on ensuring effective induction into safe operating practices on the shop-floor and on platforms and rigs. Increasingly, we are being asked to help safety professionals and champions to re-energise their safety training and induction programmes. Our experience within other sectors in the UK, Rail, construction and transport, provides a pool of ideas that can be drawn on.  Messages may remain constant, but finding new ways of helping individuals make them relevant to their own personal experience requires innovative thinking. In people=positive™ we have always encouraged our team to‘re-invent’ the processes and activities we use regularly. This not only keeps them fresh and motivated, but also encourages continuous improvement in our product. In jazz music, soloists improvise on the theme of the tune which is always ‘standard’.  If they find themselves playing the same ’improvisation’ all the time then they are ‘stuck’.  The first step is to recognise and accept this, then experiment with new ways of approaching the same theme – change the picture you’re trying to create with the notes / change the dynamics / change the mood etc. Some of the innovations we’ve brought to safety training and safety forums over the years: ‘Spot the Difference’ – taking a routine activity where violations are known to occur regularly and re-drawing the picture with some key changes - simple but effective.  Video-diaries – many variations, from recorded messages made offshore played during onshore safety forums to ‘connect’ with more people and their issues / site visits in small groups shipyard to modules in shipyard under construction recording observations on the journey around then sharing different perspectives – Oscar for the best danger highlighted or best improvement to build-in safety / to creating short induction messages in ‘advert’ style format highlighting golden rules. The Personal Safety Case – taking the idea of identifying risks and measures associated with plant and machinery,  and applying this to the individual – what makes you a risk and how will you manage this when working with others? ‘Near Myths’ – card game taking well-known viewpoints on safety-related themes, and arguing the opposite viewpoint to explore different perspectives. Each of these activities of course, is only a vehicle to surface issues for discussion and reflection. The real learning begins when people identify ways to apply these new insights into their day-to-day working environment.