Our Safety Improvement Road Map
Decision-making and thinking for safety in the organisation is directed by 'Our Future State' (PDF 726 Kb), which sets the vision for BHP Billiton as an organisation in which:
- The safety of our people is a value which is not compromised.
- Safety excellence is recognised as good business.
- Leaders at all levels are safety role models.
- Effective safety leadership is a prerequisite for promotion.
- People are aware of the hazards and risks in their workplace and act accordingly.
- Compliance with safety standards and procedures is absolute.
- 'At risk' behaviours are not acceptable and are addressed when observed.
- Effective skills to lead and work safely are developed through ongoing training and mentoring.
- Repeat incidents are evidence of an out of control operation..
The Safety Improvement Road Map (see below diagram) remains our guide to safety excellence. The diagram illustrates that, as the maturity of our organisation increases, our safety improvement initiatives become all-encompassing. The most mature organisations understand that the behaviours of their people are the key to their success.
Learnings from our fatalities identified gaps in the consistent application of the Future State principles across the organisation. A substantial review, including a deeper analysis of the fatalities occuring since the merger between BHP and Billiton (2001), was undertaken to assess how to re-establish a stable progression towards Zero Harm.
Key learnings for the organisation were:
- Low injury frequency rates do not mean low fatality rates – we cannot, and should not, draw any comfort from low injury rates in terms of our capacity to eliminate fatalities.
- Injury reduction programs alone will not prevent fatalities – a complementary focused effort is required on fatal risk. This is why we have implemented the Fatal Risk Control Protocols.
- Our fatalities often have similar underlying causes.
- High near miss reporting often correlates with declining injuries or fatalities – our ability to take heed of the signals from near miss events is crucial to our efforts in eliminating fatalities.
- Leadership visibility in the field is vital – our current state of safety maturity relies heavily on leadership energy to deliver improved performance.
- Effective contractor management is essential.
- Hazard identification and risk awareness are fundamental to success.
