In the media, published in Simply Communicate, June 1, 2011

Written by Virginia Merritt. This article is filed under: leadership, leadership development, strategy development

Creating a successful safety leadership campaign

By Kelly Klass, Simply Communicate

How Balfour Beatty created a successful safety leadership campaign

In 2007, Balfour Beatty Group MD Andy Rose phoned London-based consultancy Stanton Marris for some help on a new job challenge he was facing: to help the international infrastructure business achieve Zero Harm Safety by the year 2012.

Leadership and communication consultant Virginia Merritt recalls:

“I went to the meeting and I thought, ‘What I know about safety management processes I could write on the back of a postage stamp.’ After years of working with clients on leadership, change and other initiatives, there we were having to advise an organization of 50,000 employees, plus all their subcontractors, on eliminating deaths and serious harm on the job.”

At Balfour Beatty, employees account for only 10 per cent of the work force; the remaining 90% are the subcontractors. Whenever a fatal accident occurs, Balfour Beatty feels morally and contractually responsible, understandably.

So this was an elephant-sized task.