ecchelmet A PARADIGM SHIFT IN SAFETY
The concept and definition of SAFETY has undergone a ‘sea-change’, particularly over the past decade or so. The transformation from operational safety activities to the emergence of the concept of an Environment, Health & Safety Management System and its development have been nothing short of dramatic.
L&T’s journey towards a culture of Mission Zero Harm has helped foster a mindset among employees that incidents are preventable, without compromising on safety and inculcating a habit to care for each other’s safety.
The Roads, Runways, & Elevated Corridors (RREC) SBG of Transportation Infrastructure IC has been evolving, and we are emerging beyond just linear road projects to our activities also encompassing the engineering and execution of complex projects for the first time in India like the High-Speed Rail bullet train project and other challenging ones like the Meghalaya – Assam bridge project across the mighty Brahmaputra River, to name a couple. Of course, we have recently completed some mega road projects like the Mumbai – Nagpur and the Madhya Pradesh Expressway Projects, both delivered well ahead of time.
Complex projects bring with them greater challenges and risks relating to Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS), and we are constantly upgrading ourselves to meet the challenges of this rapidly changing and challenging ecosystem. Creating a safety-conscious culture is paramount to the success of any proactive safety function, and we foster an environment where safety is everyone’s responsibility, right from the top management to the frontline employees.
THE TRANSFORMATION FROM OPERATIONAL SAFETY ACTIVITIES TO THE EMERGENCE OF THE CONCEPT OF AN ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH & SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND ITS DEVELOPMENT HAVE BEEN NOTHING SHORT OF DRAMATIC.
RREC SBG is undertaking various strategic measures to achieve ‘Mission Zero Harm’.
- 10-point EHS programme: A proactive stance taken by the RREC top management to implement 10 key EHS requirements at all project sites. This strategic decision reflects a commitment to create a culture of safety, minimize risks, and foster a productive and secure working environment at all our project sites.
- Focused EHS training programmes: Behaviour-Based Safety & Defensive Driving Programmes were identified as two key value drivers to enhance safety culture at project sites.
- Monthly EHS performance dashboard: To facilitate data-driven decision-making, we have adopted the practice of publishing monthly EHS performance dashboards for the top management that provide a comprehensive overview of the organization’s safety performance. The dashboard consolidates crucial safety metrices, key performance indicators like training to manhour ratio, safety lead indicators, near misses, and so on. It serves as a benchmarking tool too, allowing the top management to compare safety performance across different projects, which also helps in set clear targets and goals.
- Digital Unsafe Acts & Conditions reporting module: The most critical part of keeping any activity or function safe is to proactively identify Unsafe Acts (UA) & Unsafe Conditions (UC) and evolve mitigatory measures for timely deployment. A digital UA & UC reporting module has been released on the SHEILD platform and can be accessed by anyone in RREC to raise concerns over any unsafe acts and conditions.
- EHS Steward Competency Enhancement Training: This is a transformative programme wherein multiple impactful training topics have been finely curated from the competency survey conducted for the EHS stewards.
- Subcontractor EHS performance development: Enhancing subcontractor EHS performance is vital for EHS development, legal compliance, and risk mitigation. There are various steps undertaken by EHS & SCM departments like setting clear prequalification EHS criteria during selection, conducting regular subcontractor meetings to discuss EHS-related solutions, performance monitoring of subcontractors during retendering, and recognizing their EHS performance with rewards and recognition.
- LIFE Award: Safety at workplace is the responsibility of every person in the team. To motivate the entire team towards safety consciousness and build a robust safety culture, the EHS and HR departments have introduced a reward and recognition initiative – LIFE AWARD – for TIIC to acknowledge all the best performing sites and staff in safety.
- Environment and Sustainability: On the journey towards attaining carbon and water neutrality, various strategic initiatives have been undertaken at RREC SBG like developing an inhouse solar-powered electrical vehicle and installing air-to-water plants to provide potable drinking water for remote projects, to name a few. The use of a cold central plant to recycle the pavement at the record-setting Meerut Aligarh Road Project won the team the 10th Global Safety Summit Environment Award for recycling, reuse, and other environment measures.
- Certificate Course in Industrial Safety: HR & EHS have initiated the competency development programme for the EHS Staff by nominating them for a one-year full-time online Certificate Course in Industrial Safety from the National Institute of Fire Engineering & Safety Management (NIFS), Vizag (affiliated to SBTET, AP). Totally, 10 EHS staff have passed out with flying colours from the 2022–23 batch. This was possible thanks to the continued support from the Project Managers and the RREC Management.
At RREC, we believe that Safety is a shared responsibility, and each one of us plays a crucial role in creating a safe, secure work environment, which is an integral part of our culture. By investing in safety initiatives, we not only protect our employees but also pave the way for a secure & sustainable future for our organization. Together, we continue to make safety a key foundation of our organizational culture to pave the way towards a brighter and safer future.