We put safety at the heart of everything we do and conduct safety training through programmes like Generation Safe in Centrica Energy
Securing and generating energy can be an inherently hazardous environment but we believe all work-related injuries are preventable. To achieve this, we put safety at the heart of everything we do and conduct safety training through programmes like Generation Safe in Centrica Energy.
Generation Safe takes a pioneering best-practice approach to safety which involves our business partners and contractors working alongside our employees to share knowledge and develop solutions to health and safety issues. This will help us achieve a zero-harm environment at our power generation operations.
More than 1,100 people (note 1) have participated in Generation Safe workshops at our Centre of Excellence Renewables base in Grimsby, which provides a cutting-edge learning environment. For example, realistic scenarios are played out using actors, props and sound to bring to life the effect different actions have in order to show what a world-class approach to safety looks like. Live demonstrations are supported by interactive sessions that improve understanding of safety risks, their causes and what we can do differently by working collaboratively to achieve a safer working environment.
Centrica Energy leaders also attend safety tours at our power stations as well as our onshore and offshore wind farms. The tours aim to harness expert safety knowledge from across the business and gets leaders more involved in frontline operations. They examine whether current safety practices are working effectively and whether measures for improvement could be introduced. The tours also provide strong examples of best practice which can subsequently be shared at their own sites. In 2013, 13 safety tours took place and in 2014 further parts of the business will be encompassed.
Another key area of Generation Safe in 2013 was to improve the safety for those working at height offshore. A standardised induction process and a common standard have now been introduced to raise awareness of risks and embed strong safety behaviors when working at height. Learnings from formalising the working at height offshore processes will be applied to power stations in 2014.
Improving safety reporting has also been a focus of Generation Safe. Robust reporting is important because identifying risks, however small they may be, enables us to detect areas for improvement and implement actions to address any issues. We have raised awareness about safety reporting and trialed an app for capturing observations to make reporting easier. These efforts have been highly effective, with the number of people using our online reporting system in 2013 increasing by over 400%, while the number of observations went up by 46%. This has helped reduce injury frequency rates by around 29% for this area of the business.
We will continue to pioneer a world-class safety culture at our sites and offices through Generation Safe in 2014.