Strengthening our safety culture

Goal Zero

Goal Zero captures the belief that we can operate without fatalities or significant incidents despite the often difficult conditions in which we operate. To support this aim, we continue to roll out initiatives to strengthen our safety culture. This includes improving the safety leadership skills of staff, simplifying our requirements, and rewarding successful performance.

While we still have work to do, we are making good progress.

Life-Saving Rules

Our mandatory 12 Life-Saving Rules reinforce what employees and contractors must know and do to prevent serious injury or fatality: for example, wear seat belts and do not speed or use mobile phones – even hands-free – while driving. If they break the rules, employees face disciplinary action up to termination of employment, while contractors can be removed from the site and barred from future work with Shell.

Golden Rules

These three simple rules make it clear how Shell employees and contractors are expected to behave.
You and I:
• Comply with the law, standards and procedures
• Intervene in unsafe or non-compliant situations
• Respect our neighbours
The rules emphasise individual responsibility while encouraging staff to intervene to help their colleagues and respect neighbours.

Safety Days

We hold annual global safety days with our employees and contractors to help strengthen our safety culture.

In 2011 the Safety Day theme was again “Do the right thing”. Across the world staff partnered with contractors to take part in events that focused on removing obstacles to “doing the right thing” and reaffirmed their commitment to building a Goal Zero culture.

Hearts and Minds

This award-winning programme emerged from Shell-sponsored research into safety and behaviour at Leiden, Manchester and Aberdeen universities. Hearts and Minds works to change peoples’ attitudes and habits so they behave safely. It provides practical techniques to help people learn to intervene to stop unsafe behaviour. Together with the Energy Institute, we are sharing the tools from the Heart and Minds programme with the rest of the industry to help promote safe behaviour.

Learning and competence

A strong safety culture also depends on a competent workforce. We check that everyone responsible for tasks with a significant HSSE risk has the necessary training and skills. Online training is provided through the Shell Open University to develop staff skills in HSSE. Specific training is also provided for high-risk areas, for example, road safety.