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In educating the leadership team on the measures, the company takes on a structured approach including training sessions, coaching, regular communication & updates, and more, Gavin Sumantri Shen, Chief Operating Officer, ENGIE South East Asia shares.
In an era where climate change is increasingly influencing workplace conditions, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of employees has never been more critical.
ENGIE South East Asia (ENGIE SEA), an organisation providing energy solutions, aims to be at the forefront of addressing these evolving occupational risks, as we derive from this interview with Gavin Sumantri Shen, Chief Operating Officer, ENGIE South East Asia. This, as we learn, is being brought to life through initiatives such as ENGIE SEA’s Safety Essentials, robust risk management, last-minute risk assessments, and the Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) reporting portal.
Speaking to Priya Sunil, Shen delves into what these initiatives entail, the thought process and ideas behind designing such initiatives, how they are driving employee awareness and participation, and more.
Read on for what Shen has to share:
Q The ILO has cautioned that as global occupational safety & health protections struggle to keep up with the evolving risks from climate change, the impact is felt in worker mortality and morbidity. How are you addressing this risk in your workforce? What measures has ENGIE set in place to mitigate the impact of climate change on your employees?
ENGIE’s top priority has always been ensuring its workers’ health and safety at the workplace. To combat the evolving risks caused by external factors like climate change, we have implemented several measures, known as ENGIE’s Safety Essentials — 'Five essentials to ensure no life is at risk':
(a) Robust risk management:
- We map occupational health and safety and process safety risks and periodically review them, considering business-specific and geographical factors. Regular safety visits, audits, and inspections are conducted to ensure consistency with health and safety rules.
- ENGIE’s 'Nine lifesaving rules' have been designed to address risks and prevent serious injuries / fatal workplace accidents.
- We follow certification processes such as ISO 45001, OHSAS 18001, and others to maintain high safety standards.
(b) Last minute risk assessment:
ENGIE understands that climate-related hazards, particularly extreme weather events, can pose additional risks to workers’ health & safety.
We advocate for last-minute risk assessment to ensure that it is validated right up to the last minute before starting or restarting work on-site. This includes validating workers’ fitness to perform the work and site safety conditions.
(c) Proactive reporting and monitoring:
In 2022, we launched an Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) reporting portal, a comprehensive and anonymous platform accessible to all ENGIE stakeholders and employees.
The online platform allows for anonymous reporting of safety concerns, potential risks, and unsafe acts, encouraging prompt reporting and escalation of any safety hazards at work.
(d) Stop-The-Work Authority
Stop-The-Work Authority is a mandate given by ENGIE’s Group CEO, Catherine Macgregor, that authorises anyone to stop work if it is unsafe.
(e) Shared vigilance
As part of ENGIE’s Safety Essentials, we encourage all employees and contractors to actively participate in shared vigilance actively, looking out for each other in the workplace, even if the work is not within one’s scope.
In addition, ENGIE also focuses on disseminating information through the different business units to ensure workplace safety. We host thematic monthly webinars and presentations on the analysis of fatal accidents and the types of support provided, keeping executives and employees up-to-update with the latest safety and health concerns, and modifying our regulations and support accordingly.
Q How were these measures designed – what were the top considerations and potential challenges you kept in mind, and how did the team ensure effective communication of these measures across all segments of the workforce?
ENGIE’s five Safety Essentials embody the No Life At Risk Framework, designed to prevent serious injuries at work. These essentials ensure a safe work environment when fully practised on-site.
Potential challenges: Implementing these essentials dynamically as workplace conditions evolve, whether due to the progression of work phases, new batch of workers, or external factors like climate change.
Effective communications: ENGIE designed five 'Managerial safety rituals', encouraging managers to engage directly with operators, employees, and/or contractors on implementing safety essentials. These rituals are: Managerial safety visits, toolbox talks, lifesaving checks, joint safety inspections with contractors, and safety performance reviews.
We also address peripheral risk through the No Life At Risk Framework, aimed at combating psychosocial risks and ensuring workplace wellbeing for all employees. For example: Maintaining life-work balance and being attentive to oneself & others are two commitments for workplace wellbeing at ENGIE.
Q How did you educate your leadership team on these measures, before educating the workforce?
Since 2022, ENGIE has embarked on a comprehensive transformation programme to embed these measures into the leadership team (including all managers) through the ENGIE One Safety Culture (EOSC) programme. This structured approach involved:
- Preparation and analysis: Risk mapping of business activities, contractor profiling, site interviews, and ritual mapping.
- Initial briefings and workshops: Leadership attended the Value Accelerator workshop to outline the EOSC programme's objectives and priorities.
- Training sessions: All managers are trained in the EOSC Leadership Training program which is customised to operational clusters’ relevance.
- Coaching sessions: All managers are coached on-site to perform the five managerial safety rituals.
- Regular communication and updates: Continuous updates on health and safety results ensured informed, data-driven performance review and decision-making. In addition, regular dialogues with employees ensured that leadership understood and was kept up to date on workforce needs and concerns.
Q Zooming in on the ESH reporting portal - how has the introduction of the portal impacted the safety culture within ENGIE Southeast Asia?
What steps are taken to ensure employees are well equipped and informed to effectively use this portal?
[Reference response from Q3 on education measures before rolling out to the larger workforce]
The ESH portal is meant to encourage reporting of unsafe observations, helping prevent potential incidents. Since its implementation, we have seen 125% increase in reporting from January to May 2023 compared to the same period last year, and a 323% increase this year. This has led to a 97% reduction in incidents over the same period.
We conduct on-site training and events explaining the type of support provided to maintain a safe and healthy environment, including demonstrations on report submission, identifying reportable incidents, and emphasising confidentiality measures.
Q How do you and your team ensure that reports submitted through the EHS portal are promptly investigated and resolved?
Our team adheres to a structured process to ensure the prompt investigation and resolution of reports submitted via the EHS portal.
Reports are swiftly escalated to relevant site administrators or supervisors for investigation, and closed-loop communication with reporters is maintained to ensure timely incident resolution.
Alignment with our company's whistleblowing policy ensures confidentiality and protection against retaliation, fostering a culture of trust and accountability.
Examples of how the portal has helped mitigate safety risks
For example, at one of our construction sites, back-to-back unsafe observation reports related to lifting led to immediate reviews of method statements and risk assessments for all critical lifting activities, resulting in successful lifts and mitigating safety risks.
Q Looking at your ESH measures as a whole – what has the feedback from the ground been, and what positive changes have you seen in your workforce since introducing these measures?
Feedback has generally been positive, encouraging open communication regardless of hierarchy. ENGIE’s fair and just treatment rewards impactful reporting and sanctions those who deliberately bypass safety measures. Statistically, we have seen a significant increase in reporting and a sustainable reduction in incidents, including:
- 125% increase in reporting from January to May in 2023 as compared to the same period the year before.
- Since the implementation, we have witnessed a significant reduction in incidents of 58% from January to May 2023 compared to last year.
- The figure has further improved to a 97% reduction for the same period this year.
Q What role does employee feedback play in shaping ENGIE’s overall health & safety policies?
Employee feedback is crucial. Initiatives like the EHS Reporting Portal empower employees to anonymously report safety concerns, promptly addressing safety issues and fostering a culture of shared vigilance and accountability.
In ENGIE, we promote a "see something, say something" culture to emphasise the importance of employee feedback in identifying and addressing safety hazards.
Q As the world continues to navigate these trying times, what future plans does ENGIE have to continue to enhance your employees’ safety and wellbeing?
[Reference response from Q1 on continued commitment to improvement and maintaining open communication channels with workforce]
ENGIE’s “No Life At Risk” and “No Mind At Risk” frameworks remain relevant.
The ENGIE One Safety Culture (EOSC) programme anchors our managers in a clear vision against challenges impacting workplace health and safety. We will continue to utilise a cross-functional approach, leveraging digital tools and strengthening communication to uphold ENGIE’s safety standards.
Q What advice would you give to other companies looking to implement similar health and safety measures and platforms in their operations?
Safety is a journey—it starts with a single step, small or big, and continues. It is never too late to design a robust safety management system. Learning from industry best practices is crucial; we do not need to learn from accidents!
Q On a personal front – what is the most important step you are taking in your day-to-day life to play your part in combating climate change?
ENGIE’s purpose is around lesser energy and greener energy solutions, including influencing our daily lives. Personally, I consider reducing waste as the most important practice to play my part in combating climate change – reducing energy wastage by turning off unused appliances or reducing material wastage by avoiding single-use bags.
These are simple but significant steps. Even my pre-school age daughter learns this at school, making my life easier as she will be my constant reminder if I ever think of wasting.
Photo: Provided
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