In recent years, ABB has adopted a very positive Health & Safety culture. We have placed it at the heart of our business: it is never an extra consideration or afterthought.
This approach is really paying off, with reports of site incidents and near-misses in 2005 showing clear improvement - ABB’s overall safety performance, at a (RIDDOR/hours worked x 100,000) frequency rate of 0.58 is well below the industry standard of 1.9. However, we always aim for constant improvement. That is why we are introducing two important new initiatives. The first embraces National Grid’s ‘Golden Rules’ and rolls them out across all our customer sites, and the second is an increased emphasis on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
We launched the new initiatives at our annual site Health & Safety review in January - a three-day forum in which all our site managers from every UK site (15 in total) got together with representatives from our preferred contractors to discuss what is happening in the world of safety. As well as reviewing past performance and reflecting on lessons learned, attendees received refresher training and updates on new H&S regulations.
THE ROAD TO ZERO
National Grid has its own ‘Road to Zero’ programme, which aims to achieve zero injuries, zero workrelated ill health, and zero environmental incidents. As part of this programme it has developed eight ‘Golden Rules’. These rules have been put in place to help everyone think about the safety implications of the work they do, and to give clear guidance on the safety behaviour expected of everyone to make the workplace safer. We fully endorse this approach, and we are adapting the Golden Rules throughout ABB and ensuring that they are implemented for all customers, at every operational site.
A NEW LOOK AT PPE
For ABB’s new PPE initiative we have adopted an even more rigorous approach, derived from our experience of the good practice we have seen in our rail industry projects. The impetus arose from a statistical analysis of site Health & Safety issues made possible by the detailed reporting procedures we have implemented, which cover any incident, no matter how small, as well as near-misses. The analysis showed that, while the existing PPE equipment was doing a good job in preventing serious injuries, there were still many preventable minor injuries, especially to eyes and hands. To combat this, we have now made the wearing of suitable eye protection and gloves mandatory at all times while working on site.
We also took another look at foot protection and decided that, in view of the number of ankle injuries, a greater level of support was required. So safety shoes are no longer sufficient. Everyone on site must wear lace-up safety boots.
Safety helmets are long established as the most visible example of PPE. But now we are insisting on the use of a chin strap to ensure they stay in place. This is of course already a requirement when working at height, however we believe that the chin-strap offers enhanced safety in many other situations.
The new PPE is not just for those working on site day-to-day, it is essential for project managers, contract managers and anybody who comes on site. Thanks to an early roll-out, all our sites were compliant well before the April 2006 deadline for implementation.
The National Grid Golden Rules cover:
Permits and authorization
Safety systems and protection Devices
Working at height
Ground disturbance
Reporting faulty workmanship
PPE
Safe driving
Alcohol and drugs.