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Safety Culture Maturity™ Project wins BP Award

A joint entry by BP's Forties Pipeline System and The Keil Centre won the top gold award in the performance category of BP Grangemouth's Helios Awards. These awards are presented for pioneering or inspirational projects. Phil Joyner, formerly the Asset Manager at BP's Dalmeny and Hound Point site, initiated an employee involvement project to improve the maturity of their safety culture, and it was this effort which was recognised by the Helios Award. Using the Safety Culture MaturityTM method, Phil and his colleagues identified locally-relevant solutions for enhancing behavioural and organisational aspects of safety culture, whilst involving all staff. The Dalmeny/Hound Point team and its contractors responded enthusiastically to the process, and identified opportunities for improvement in safety performance. What was learned has been shared within BP, with industry regulators and the European chemical industry. The success of the project was attributed to harnessing the potential of individuals and engaging them fully.

For further information contact Ronny Lardner at our Edinburgh office.

"This award is for the FPS team who have embraced the concept of behaviours and have, as a result, started to make a difference in all aspects of the team's performance". Phil Joyner, BP Grangemouth Safety Manager

Leading the way in learning

In common with many organisations, West Lothian Council faces the challenge of delivering its services in new ways. The Council has to meet the evolving needs and expectations of its customers and the requirements of the Government's modernisation agenda, all within ever tightening resource constraints.

To be able to respond effectively to these challenges, the Council has recognised the need to develop managers who can not only deliver results through their own teams, but also work with partners across organisational barriers to create new solutions. Traditional development methods were unlikely to achieve the desired results. The Council asked The Keil Centre's organisational psychologists to design an innovative management development programme that would allow managers to identify and work on their own development needs, whilst creating an adaptive, learning culture throughout the organisation.

For each group of 12 managers, the programme runs over one year. This allows participants the chance to clarify their own needs, focus their development on the areas which will add most value and be supported in learning via the real work challenges they face. Development workshops using 360° feedback and other diagnostic methods are followed by action learning, where peer groups from different service areas provide a balance of support and challenge for each other. Additional development activities are determined in response to individual needs.

All 120 of the Council's senior managers, including the corporate management team, will have been through the programme by the end of 2002. A thorough evaluation process was built into the programme. The evaluation shows that the main individual benefits relate to increased confidence and self awareness, lower stress levels and better focus on priorities. Improvements in working relationships have been accompanied by more effective delegation, an increase in involvement and sharing of ideas across teams. From the organisation's perspective increased understanding of common goals and targets, improvements in problem solving, motivation and team effectiveness indicates progress is being made towards achieving the programme's objectives. Having become the first Council in Scotland to achieve Investors in People, West Lothian is well on the way to realising its ambitious aspirations to become a real Learning Authority.

For further information, contact Louise Clarkson at our Edinburgh office.

"When we started discussing the idea of a manager development programme, my prime motivation was to ensure our managers are prepared for the challenges of the 21st century. The Keil Centre programme is designed to achieve this. I am sure that having completed the programme, West Lothian Council managers will feel lasting benefits and be better equipped to manage and support others, especially during periods of change." Alex Linkston, Chief Executives, West Lothian Council

Mental Well-being at Work - helping to shape the way forward

The Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS) wish to explore employer perceptions of mental well-being at work. This is the first stage in understanding what barriers may exist to promotion of mental well-being at work. HEBS also wish to draw on positive messages and focus on what employers could and should do to secure employee well-being.

The Keil Centre has been commissioned to undertake a research project to elicit employer perceptions, identify barriers to participation and to understand in more detail the challenges employers face when promoting mental well-being at work.

To start the project, The Keil Centre spoke to a range of employers who were in attendance at a prestigious Health and Safety Executive awards ceremony, which recognised the efforts of Scottish employers who had promoted workplace health and safety during European Week for Safety and Health 2001.

The event, attended by George Foulkes MP, Minister of State for Scotland, provided an excellent opportunity for staff from The Keil Centre to talk about employer experiences of promoting mental well-being at work. This information will go on to form the basis of HEBS contribution to European Week for Safety and Health 2002, which will have a focus on work-related stress and well-being.

For further information contact Steve Lee at the Edinburgh office.

"I am sure that the results of this project will help to underpin future work in this important area". Miriam O'Connor, Programme Manager, Workplace HEBS

Designing out work-related stress

Wouldn't it be good to design out the sources of work-related stress in advance, rather than deal with the consequences? That is the approach taken by members of a BP project team responsible for commissioning a new plant based on innovative technology, assisted by The Keil Centre's Chartered Psychologists.

Using a novel table-top stress risk assessment process developed by The Keil Centre, a cross-section of employees was able to prioritise the likely sources of stress, and ensure the plant commissioning project was designed in such a way to prevent problems arising.

Although intended to design out sources of stress, those involved in the risk assessment commented that it was also extremely useful in also identifying more general vulnerabilities in how the project was being managed, bringing unexpected business benefits.

For further information on how to use this technique to anticipate likely stressors associated with a forthcoming project on organisational change, contact Ronny Lardner at our Edinburgh office.

"The stress risk assessment process felt right. The final result was a project team confident to push to the limit, knowing the necessary controls were in place". David Wilson, Group Leader, BP

OnTrack

OnTrack is an innovative, personal development programme specifically designed to help key people get the best out of themselves and their teams.

The programme aims to help participants understand why they behave the way they do, but more importantly, to use the insights and principles of applied psychology to help them improve their wellbeing and performance.

OnTrack involves an initial evaluation of the individual's current functioning, personality style and the interpersonal and organisational context in which they work. Once a set of development goals have been drawn up, we add our psychological expertise to the individual's existing knowledge and experience to help them work more effectively.

Typically, OnTrack involves 8-10, one-to-one meetings held at weekly intervals. Throughout, we aim to accommodate busy schedules. This may involve meeting at the place of work, or at the Keil Centre's offices, in Edinburgh or Glasgow.

The programme is designed to benefit the individual and their organisation through:

• Improved personal well-being and resilience
• Enhanced individual performance in line with organisational objectives
• Increased interpersonal effectiveness
• Improved self-management skills

For more information about OnTrack, contact Dr Craig Simpson at The Keil Centre's Edinburgh or Glasgow office.

PRISM Seminar Success - European Human Factors Safety Drive Launched in Edinburgh

The first of a series of PRISM seminars designed to promote best practice in human and organisational aspects of health and safety was held in Edinburgh in January 2002. Organised by The Keil Centre, this seminar was attended by over 60 delegates from 11 EC countries. Through combining a mix of expert input, industry case studies and hands-on activities, delegates gained insight into three key human factors areas: safety culture, team-working and behavioural safety.

The event was judged a success by delegates, who particularly valued the engaging, interactive seminar format and opportunities to network with European colleagues.

For further information on the PRISM human factors network, contact Ronny Lardner at our Edinburgh office or visit www.prism-network.org.

"The first Focus Group seminar offered an excellent springboard for the PRISM network, and proved to be both practical and thought-provoking. More specifically as a result of the two days delegates will be in a position to engage in meaningful debate within their own organisations on health and safety improvement programmes". Lee Allford, Operations Director, European Process Safety Centre.

New Face at The Keil Centre

The Keil Centre is pleased to announce that Ms Alicia Pena, a dual qualified Counselling and Occupational Psychologist joined our team in 2002. A native of Chile, Alicia has worked in the UK as a counselling psychologist for the past 5 years in the NHS primary care sector. She has a strong interest in training and the application of counselling skills within organisations. Prior to her career as a psychologist, Alicia was a teacher.

Advanced counselling skills for people managers

One of Alicia's first tasks at The Keil Centre has been to design and deliver in-depth counselling skills training for HR managers. These skills are important for anyone involved in managing other people, particularly where conflict resolution and developing collaborative relationships is important.

For further information, contact Alicia Peņa at our Edinburgh office.