Case Study - Field Leadership: Moving from safe to safer
The Woodside Field Leadership framework creates a structured approach to developing leadership skills at all levels of the business. This is achieved through four types of conversations, all of which are designed to engage with workers in the location where they perform their role.
The Take Time Talk is a conversation that everyone can have. It is a demonstration of our culture of care and rooted in the ‘I see, I fix’ mentality.
The Real Work Talk is for frontline leaders and involves a pre-selected work task, field based observation and a conversation about how the delivery of work corresponded to how it was planned. The Fatality Risk Talk is also for frontline leaders and involves a pre-selected work activity and a conversation about the fatality risks involved, the work conditions that might impact control effectiveness and what we can learn to improve them.
The Layered Deep Dive is for Line Leaders (including executives) and frontline leaders and involves taking a focused examination of a component of the management system or a specific risk control. Preparation is required for this activity starting with a documentation review, including an assessment of the practical application of procedure, with the aim to improve either documentation or any identified conditions that are impacting application.
Except for the Take Time Talk, which can happen anytime, these conversations are planned and scheduled. Crew and Leaders are trained to ensure the conversations feel energising to all involved, and there is a coaching component built in to provide feedback to the leaders on how to improve their approach.
The benefits of Field Leadership include:
- Building trust amongst the workforce, so that we can learn and improve
- Understanding gaps between work as planned and work as done, allowing us to improve systems and processes
- Increasing confidence that risks are understood and controls are operated as intended.
We are excited to see how this approach can move the dial over time on our safety performance