2007 - Gas terminal

The client was planning a significant organisational change. Referring to the HSE's staffing assessment methodology, but tailoring it to the client's specific needs, Andy considered the plans and employees' views. From this he was able to identify that there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the objectives, but that some of the arrangements for implementing the change needed to be reviewed.

2006 - Pharmaceutical Manufacture

The site was piloting a change from a traditional 'functional organisation' to a 'process oriented organisation' incorporating self-managed teams. The objective of the change was to achieve a step change improvement in production performance, but being a COMAH top tier establishment the client had recognised that it could have safety implications. Andy was asked to carry out an organisational risk assessment to highlight potential pitfalls and recommend risk control measures. Working to a tight timescale, Andy was able to use his knowledge regarding team work and supervision to focus on key areas of concern. Interviewing members of the operating teams and facilitating a workshop with members of the change management team he developed a full list of potential threats, which he presented as an objective review of the plans. A number of risks were identified and Andy proposed practical solutions for each. He was able to demonstrate that plans for implementation had to go well beyond the notional 'go live' date, because the new organisation would take some considerable time to develop.

2005 - Fertiliser manufacture

Following an organisational change on the site, Andy was asked to review its success, and to identify aspects that had been less successful and/or required further improvement. This involved a number of discussion meetings with operating teams across the site, plus with plant managers and technical support staff. His report identified that the changes had been implemented without increasing or introducing additional risks. However, some of the objectives of the changes had not yet been realised, and would require further management intervention. Andy's report included recommendations for further improvements.

2004 - Pharmaceutical

The site in question is one of the client' major assets. It has its own emergency team to provide emergency response. In order to improve arrangements and reduce costs the client was looking to make some changes in the way the team was organised. Andy was asked to carry out a qualitative risk assessment of the planned changes and to advise whether the proposal was sensible. Also, to advise on how it should be implemented. Working with a junior colleague, Andy discussed the key issues with all those likely to be affected by the changes. From this the main potential risk factors were identified and evaluated. The conclusion from the project was that the changes could go ahead if certain activities were carried out when managing the change.

2004 - Chemical Manufacture

An organisational change was planned so that operating and engineering departments would be realigned to improve flexibility and protect against future staff turnover. The client recognised that organisational change can introduce risk, and that they may need to be able to demonstrate to the Health and Safety Executive that those risks had been assessed and subsequently managed. Working closely with management and staff, Andy clarified the nature of the changes being planned and the intended impacts. Using HSE guidance CHIS7 regarding managing organisational change, as well as the more general health and safety information included in HSE guidance HSG65, Andy identified potential hazards and ranked them according to risk. These included organisation culture, stress and communication. The client's implementation plan was reviewed to determine how well it addressed the risks, and recommendations were made to improve specific aspects. Andy presented his report to management, who used it develop their plan for implementing and monitoring the changes.

2004 - Chemical Manufacture

The client was planning to change from an 8 hour to 12 hour shift pattern. Also, the number of shift teams was being reduced from six to five, which resulted in employee reductions, and required changes to the way absence (e.g. sickness and holidays) was covered. This project was an evaluation of the proposed changes, including collecting views and comments from the operators being affected. Andy evaluated the planned changes to confirm the new arrangements would be acceptable from a health and safety point of view, and to provide advice about how the changes should be managed. The HSE Fatigue Index was used to evaluate the proposed new pattern. During the project, control room operators raised concerns about mental fatigue from the increased time they would be in the control room on each shift. Some other operators had physically demanding tasks and were concerned that the longer shifts would impact on their work and result in injury and physical fatigue. There was also a general concern about an ageing workforce, and how this affected shift work. The report included a qualitative assessment of the risks and advice about how they could be controlled. Advice was provided regarding human physical capabilities, nutritional requirements and how to avoid physiological fatigue.

2003 - Chemical

The client was planning to change from a 8-hour to 12-hour shift pattern. The main driver for this was that they were having problems arranging cover for holidays, sickness etc. This had resulted in frequent working of double shifts (i.e. 16 hours). Andy made extensive use of fatigue research documented in HSE Contract Research Report 254/1999, and the working time directive and UK regulations. Communication was key element in this project and research about shift handover described in HSE offshore report OTO 96003 was used.

2003 - Petrochemical

The client was interested to learn more about practical, human factors techniques. Andy ran a two day workshop with a group of site personnel, assisted by a junior colleague. On the first day a mini-staffing assessment was carried out using the HSE methodology (CRR 348/2001). On the second day some critical tasks were analysed using Hierarchical Task Analysis. A report was written of the findings from the workshop, especially regarding control room operations and the impact of change.

2003 - Chemical

The client had recognised that the way they were managing changes on the site did not guarantee sufficient control, and it was not possible to demonstrate after the event how changes had been managed. Andy, working with a colleague, assessed how changes were identified, assessed and implemented for process plant, procedures, materials and organisation. From this he was able to conclude that the same underlying process was present in all cases, but that this was not reflected in the existing procedures. He also identified that other systems played a part, especially permit-to-work where modifications to process plant were involved. From the assessment carried out, Andy developed an 'overarching change management policy' that documented the stages to be followed in implementing all types of change on site. This also formed the basis for specific procedures for different types of change and integrated other systems and procedures, including permit-to-work.

2003 - Chemical

The client was planning to combine four control rooms on the site, into one. The knock-on effect of this was that support engineers would no longer be located in the same building as the process operators, but centrally some 200 metres away. Andy carried out a qualitative assessment of the potential risks associated with this move on the basis that it was a significant organisational change that would affect the way individuals and different groups would interact and communicate. The people most affected were involved via focus groups and interviews. The assessment was used to advise the client about how to manage the change to minimise the risk.

2003 - Chemical

Following requests from staff, the company were considering a change from 8 hour to 12 hours shift patterns. Andy evaluated the proposed patterns using the HSE's fatigue index and other guidance, including the work time regulations. From this he identified some of the options being considered could result in people working four or more night shifts in a row, and that this may create unnecessary health and safety concerns. As well as fatigue issues, some significant knock-on benefits were expected through improved communication between shifts (less handovers) and with maintenance teams (more likely that jobs would start and finish during the same operations shift). Using HSE research regarding shift handover (HSE offshore report OTO 96003), safety of driving at work (HSE Research Report 020) and his own experiences, Andy presented the potential full impacts of planned changes. Andy discussed the planned changes with the staff likely to be affected. This highlighted some differences of opinion, but a general willingness to give it a go. From the information collected, Andy was able to advise regarding the potential problems with changing the shift and how these could be avoided. Andy has subsequently returned to the site and found that the new shift pattern has been a great success, with staff noticing "radical improvements" in their health, wellbeing and happiness.