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Europe - 2007
An Evolving World-Class Safety Culture in Iceland
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Integrating the world-class safety standards of Alcoa and Bechtel, combined with strong leadership support of safety throughout the construction of Alcoa's first new aluminum smelter in more than two decades, reduced injuries and served as a catalyst for increased safety awareness in Iceland.
The three-year Alcoa Fjarðaál construction project in East Iceland logged 11.5 million man hours with a total of six lost workdays and 34 recordable injuries. An average of 1,300 people were on the site each day, working either for Bechtel or one of the project's 100-plus contractors and subcontractors.
"This project has brought a totally different safety culture to Iceland," said Gestur Pétursson, EHS manager for Iceland-based subcontractor Inpro. "The main difference is the level of commitment and involvement on behalf of the management team. Safety is part of their management philosophy."
Alcoa's safety strategy for the Fjarðaál project was to team with contractor Bechtel to design safety systems that would achieve a zero-incidents goal. The first step was integrating Alcoa's standards, which weren't as geared toward construction, with those of Bechtel, which were. Bechtel was responsible for managing the safety component of the project, with the Alcoa team providing input and oversight.
"We had a number of challenges to overcome," said Joseph Zoghbi, Bechtel's ES&H manager for the project. "The safety culture was completely different, so there was a very steep learning curve for the local employees. There was also a shortage of local labor due to the remoteness of the project. We imported 1,500 Polish workers, and we had to overcome cultural and language barriers to build the Alcoa/Bechtel safety culture."
The multi-tiered safety strategy included the following components:
- Incident management-A system to record and investigate all incidents, including near-misses, was put in place at the beginning of the project.
- Contractor selection-All contractors underwent a prequalification process with an emphasis on safety performance and training. Safety performance was also included in the project's scope of work and terms and conditions.
- Training-Each worker had to participate in a week-long training session that included an introduction to all safety regulations and task-specific training.
- Hazard control-The project included detailed programs on fall protection, excavation, electrical safety, mobile equipment, and more.
- Audits-Alcoa conducted periodic safety audits in addition to Bechtel's own audit structure.
Alcoa and Bechtel also sponsored the creation of an Icelandic safety association called the Green Cross to improve safety at work and home. Members include industry representatives, labor unions, and the Iceland Administration of Occupational Safety and Health.
"The Alcoa project has already affected the overall safety culture on the island," said Pétursson. "For example, several major purchasers of contractor services are reviewing their selection procedures and methods to emphasize environment, health, and safety as key criteria. In addition, local employees who worked on the Fjarðaál project learned the safety culture and have begun to push for it on other projects."
He adds, "Companies, even those outside of construction, are now asking how they can be like Alcoa and Bechtel. World-class performance like these two companies have doesn't happen overnight, but Icelandic firms are starting on that path because of this project."
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