Generally, HSE focuses on such factors as environmental, organizational, job-related, and human and individual characteristics. Missing from this list, however, are cultural and relationship factors. In the oil and gas sector, the impact of culture and relationships is best illustrated by their effect on health and safety intervention.

Most people in the oil and gas industry work alongside others. For that reason, most unsafe acts are witnessed by a colleague who potentially could intervene. When someone who witnesses an unsafe act makes the choice to intervene, this action can be a powerful safety mechanism.

The problem is that people can be reluctant to intervene because they fear the response they might get from colleagues, direct reports, or those senior to them. They also may not know how to intervene or lack the necessary skills or confidence. Many organizations within the oil and gas sector identify intervening as a key part of their behavior-based safety system. Some also recognize that people need to be actively encouraged and supported to intervene through initiatives that:

Raise awareness among staff of the cultural and relationship factors that influence people's readiness to intervene; and

Support staff to develop their confidence and skills in intervening. The challenge is to provide this encouragement. Shell and Petroleum Geo-Services are two global organizations that have recognized the value of intervention as a safety process. They have invested time and resources to develop drama-based training programs that provide a hands-on approach to meeting these objectives.

Most people in the oil and gas industry work alongside others. Often people fail to intervene in unsafe operations because of personal relationships with their coworkers. One of the goals of action-based training using drama is to show how friendships can lead to a relaxed work attitude in which basic safety procedures can be ignored.

Nils story

Shell's behavior-based safety system is based around three Golden Rules: complying, intervening, and respecting. Shell redesigned a series of mobilization workshops for its seismic and marine vessel crews to reinforce these rules in the context of personal responsibility.

In diverse groups in terms of rank and role, crews discussed their experiences and their attitudes toward intervening in response to a drama called "Nils Story."

The story is based on a real incident concerning two highly trained and experienced electricians named Anders and Nils. In the scenario, there is faulty equipment on Nils' vessel that requires urgent repair. Anders offers to help because he has had a similar problem on his own vessel. They set to work. In the course of executing repairs, there is an explosion that leaves Anders dead and Nils needing hospital treatment.

In the investigation that follows, Nils admits that in addressing the emergency, he and Anders failed to com- ply with basic safety procedures. The relationship between the two men is highlighted as a critical factor. Their close friendship led to a relaxed and informal approach in which basic safety procedures were ignored.

In short, Nils trusted Anders and felt obliged to him for his offer of help. This encouraged him to overlook his own responsibilities, which led to a passive attitude despite his own authority and experience.

In sharing their views and experiences, the crews who watched the drama identified the cultural and relationship factors that influence their readiness to intervene:

Not wanting to offend senior people or create conflict with peers;

Assuming senior people know what they're doing;

Feeling pressure from peers to keep quiet; and

Feeling pressure from leaders to get the job done quickly.

Factors like these cannot be dealt with unless people are given the opportunity to identify them and acknowledge their impact. Stories and action learning techniques have proven to be an accessible and powerful way of doing this.

Improving the quality of interventions

PGS also identified fear of conflict as a barrier to intervening. The company employs a system of "safe cards" that enables staff to report unsafe acts and situations. The objective was to improve the quality of interventions by providing staff with the opportunity to practice and develop skills.

This was achieved by introducing a story-led training program. The safe card content was used to create a drama, presented by actors, portraying a series of typical unsafe acts and situations.

The culture and values of office-based staff within PGS was highlighted by the characters' behavior in the drama. This was then examined by staff, which worked with the actors to question and discuss what they had witnessed from both angles: the person making the intervention and the person whose behavior is being questioned.

This process gave individuals within PGS the opportunity to explore and try out how they might intervene in a safe learning environment. The fact that they did this alongside colleagues helped support a culture shift within the team in which the importance of intervention was understood and its practice encouraged and accepted.

New approach, valuable solutions

There is no doubt that cultural and relationship factors influence people's readiness to intervene. By acknowledging and addressing these factors, and by giving people the opportunity to practice behaving differently, organizations can develop intervention as one safety mechanism that can make a difference.

Though this approach is certainly novel, a number of major organizations within the sector have used it to address the serious concern of worker safety. Many have invested in new action-based training techniques in which drama can be used to address culture and relationship issues that act as barriers to intervention. The success of this approach has been visible in shifting attitudes and improved confidence among staff and managers to take personal responsibility for safety.

A sound slide of Nils story can be found on Forum's website, www.foruminteractive.co.uk.