Employees Perceptions of Health, Safety and the Environment in an Australian Oil and Gas Producer: A Comparison with the North Sea

Abstract

Abstract The primary objectives of the 1997 Woodside Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Perception Survey were to establish the perceptions and experiences of employees with regard to health, safety and environment, to generate a baseline series of data on the HSE culture of Woodside and to benchmark Woodside with the perceptions of employees working for six companies in the UK sector of the North Sea. The aim was to identify what HSE initiatives are perceived to be in place within the company, to determine what management is seen to be doing with regards to HSE within Woodside, and to identify what other HSE initiatives or alternatives are perceived to be needed. When benchmarked to the North Sea (n=722), employees on Woodside's offshore facilities (n=l33) had more positive attitudes and beliefs about the communication in their job, their attitudes to safety, their supervisors commitment to safety and their lack of willingness to break the rules than offshore workers in the North Sea. This is despite the fact that they perceive more work pressure in their jobs than employees in the North Sea. The HSE culture of Woodside was defined by employees in a much broader context than that of the North Sea. The Woodside employee concerns revolving around management, contractors and employee attitudes whereas the North Sea concerns revolved around management, employee attitudes and being able to speak up about safety. Overall there appeared to be a good stable safety culture within Woodside (n=682), however the health and environment cultures were not as developed within the company. Individual locations and groups of employees indicated there were specific HSE issues that needed targeting. This paper focuses on these issues and how they are being addressed within Woodside. P. 431