Strategy

Our objective is that no person is killed or permanently harmed by anything we do. Everything else in our safety framework is subordinate to that, and where a lesser objective would conflict with it, the lesser objective gives way. We state this as an objective and not as a target, because a target implies an acceptable shortfall.

Our safety requirements attach to decisions rather than to sites. Where we specify equipment, we assess its safety characteristics as part of the specification. Where we design an access route, we assess its exposure before it is built. Where we let a contract, we write the safety obligations into it rather than communicate them afterwards. The intent is that the cheapest point at which to remove a hazard, which is the design stage, is the point at which the requirement bites.

We treat occupational health on the same footing as safety, and it covers physical and mental wellbeing. We require health surveillance appropriate to the exposures of the role. We assess altitude, dust, noise, vibration, chemical exposure and ergonomic load as exposures in their own right, and we require the early identification of stress, fatigue and psychological strain rather than encourage it.

We treat incidents and near misses as information about the system rather than about the individual. We direct investigation at root cause, record and close out corrective actions, and share findings across sites so that a lesson learned at one is available at the others. Site inspection and internal audit are conducted on the cycle stated in the governing policy, to assess compliance and verify that corrective actions have been completed, and health and safety performance is subject to executive review on that cycle, informed by audit findings and incident trends.