December 2021 News Bulletin

Hi ,

Welcome to an update from Step Change in Safety.

In what has been another year of uncertainty, the resilience of our industry has shone through as we have all continued to adapt to how we live and work. At Step Change in Safety, we have remained focused on the health, safety and wellbeing of the workforce, through adjusting our methods of engagement and delivery of quality resources.

During 2021, we welcomed new appointments to our board and leadership team, while new co-chairs joined some of our workgroups.

Our programme of 19 events was delivered online this year. It included Competence, Elected Safety Reps, Focal Points, Human Factors and Lifting Forums, six Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health for Energy Workers training courses and the Major Accident Hazard Understanding Quiz, which was a key component of the Q3 safety theme.

A series of new resources were produced in support of the four 2021 Quarterly Safety Themes and revisions were made to a range of existing resources, including the Boots On For Safety guidance, Mental Health Awareness campaign and the Safe Working Essentials Toolkit. Our OIM network also compiled and published a suite of resources aimed at supporting the 2021 Shutdown/TAR Season. Alongside this, our Alerts and Moments workgroup published 20 new safety alerts and moments, some specific to supporting the quarterly themes.

To browse and download these documents visit the Resources and Safety Alerts and Moments sections of the website.

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Reflections on 2021

As we head towards the turn of the year, I wanted to take the time to reflect on what for us, at Step Change in Safety, has been a very productive and successful year. 2021 has brought growth in our membership, both domestically and internationally, and we have also seen an increase in our registered followers on both our website and LinkedIn domains.

We attribute this increase in engagement to the introduction of our structured quarterly themes supported by the continued publication of high-quality guidance and resources, online events, and an increase in the use of recorded media. That said, we also recognise that our lack of physical gatherings, brought about by the ongoing COVID protocols, has impacted our ability to schedule events that facilitate a more dynamic means of communications where sharing of ideas, learnings, challenges, and solutions can be discussed spontaneously. With this in mind we aim to schedule face-to-face events next year.

2022 will see Step Change in Safety reach its 25th anniversary - an amazing achievement given we are solely dependent on funding by our members who have continued to support us through some very challenging times. So, as we prepare to celebrate this milestone, I want to take the time to sincerely thank all our member companies, their employees, the UK HSE, unions, and the various trade associations for their continued support.

2022 looks to be an exciting year as we look forward to supporting our existing and new members in their quest to support safe operations as we all embark on our journey through the energy transition, and the next 25 years.

I hope you find our last newsletter of the year an interesting and useful read.

On behalf of the Step Change in Safety Board, Leadership Team and our Support Team, I wish you all a safe and happy festive season.

Steve Rae

Executive Director

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Mental Health Awareness

Mental Health Awareness

During 2021, a series of first aid for mental health training courses were held in conjunction with Omniscient Safety. These provided delegates with an understanding of common mental health symptoms, awareness in how to identify signs of diminishing mental health and the basic skills to support and encourage positive wellbeing among colleagues.

In addition to our mental health for first aiders courses, we also published a series of powerful short films featuring interviews with five individuals associated with the energy industry who speak openly about their mental health experiences. These personal stories discuss depression, anxiety, bereavement, and post-traumatic stress disorder, highlighting some of the triggers that can instigate a change in mental wellbeing and move someone along the mental health continuum.

All five films are available to watch and download, along with an accompanying Mental Health Awareness Guidance document and a discussion guide, from the Mental Health section of our website. Details of organisations offering advice and support are listed on our website.

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Q4 2021

2021 Q4 Theme

The final three months of 2021 has seen the focus of our quarterly safety themes turn to Personal Responsibility for Safety. The choice of this topic was in direct relation to the continued presence of reportable injuries, which remain one of the most frequent causes of medevacs across the sector.

The theme was developed by the WEST workgroup and featured the following three subtopics:

🔺 Clear expectations and effective communication

🔺 Personal leadership and accountability

🔺 Intervention and encouraging safe behaviours.

The aim of this topic is to encourage those working in the industry to take time to reflect on what personal responsibility and workforce engagement means to them.

You can find more information on this topic by visiting the Personal Responsibility for Safety webpage, and its three subpages.

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2022 Themes

2022 Themes

Following the success of our Quarterly Safety Themes programme during the past year, we will again be launching quarterly themes during 2022. These are aimed at continuing our engagement with the workforce in the following four important safety topics:

🔺 Q1: Process Safety Fundamentals

🔺 Q2: Human Factors and Performance

🔺 Q3: Prevention of Personal Injury

🔺 Q4: Mental Health Awareness.

More information on the 2022 Quarterly Safety Themes is available on our website. A range of existing and new resources centred around these themes will be available to download during each quarter. These materials are designed to support safety meetings or to be used as part of toolbox talks.

If your organisation would like to share their in-house resources as part of the quarterly themes, please e-mail our support team on info@stepchangeinsafety.net.

Details of the 2022 Quarterly Safety Themes are available on our website and will be actively promoted across our social media platforms. Keep up to date by following our LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

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Festive Wishes

In closing this newsletter we would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a happy, healthy and safe Christmas and New Year. Thank you for your support during 2021 and best wishes to you all for 2022.

Festive wishes from Step Change in Safety
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