Occupational Health and Safety 2018

Babcock Safety, Health and Environmental Protection (SH&EP) Standards form an integral part of Babcock International Group’s Occupational Health & Safety Management System and are applicable across all Babcock activities. These set the minimum standard expected of each Sector and Direct Reporting Country with regard to key elements of managing health and safety and include requirements for suitable arrangements for event management, recording, reporting and investigation, control of work and effective supervision, risk management, training and competency management, and assurance and monitoring.

These standards were developed in collaboration across Babcock to drive consistency of process across the wide range of activities undertaken. Babcock has a legal obligation to record accidents, incidents and near misses at work and work-related illnesses. Due to the international nature of the business, there are differing legal requirements in countries so the Babcock standards have been developed in accordance with ISO 45001 (OH&S) and ISO 31001 (Risk) as an internationally recognised standard. To support the business to meet these requirements and provide consistency of data, Babcock has mandated the use of the Synergi Life safety information management system for all SH&EP event and audit reporting. In order to prevent the recurrence of similar events or findings, it is essential that a proportionate investigation is completed to identify the root causes, treat people fairly and implement actions to address underlying issues. Reporting of near miss events and safety observations is a vital component of the Safety Management System and developments in Synergi Life to enable this have been implemented.

A Balanced Scorecard that monitors Safety Performance Indicators relating to Leadership, Event Management, Learning and Communications and Assurance has been implemented. This Balanced Scorecard includes leading and lagging indicators to provide information on the safety performance of each Sector and Direct Reporting Country and highlight any potential area for development. The standardised reporting has brought greater coherence of processes.

Additional capability is in development for Synergi Life to deliver a common risk management tool that will support risk assessments and risk profiling.

Activities conducted by Babcock range from repair and maintenance on warships, submarines, aircraft and vehicles in support of defence; maintenance and operation of aircraft conducting aerial emergency services; design, engineering and maintenance in support of nuclear power plants and provision of technical support services and asset management to other customers. All Babcock activities and workplaces are within scope of the Babcock Occupational Health and Safety Management System. These include the office environment, dockyards, aircraft hangars, onboard vessels, aircraft, and vehicles.

At times, when working on customer sites or vessels remain under control of the customer, there is a requirement to work within customer Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems. On these occasions, the customer systems have been reviewed and if Babcock requirements are of a higher standard then Babcock standards are to be met. No areas of Babcock’s activity are excluded.

All business units/operations/functions have a duty to identify risks, produce risk assessments and implement mitigations to control the risk to an acceptable level. Risk assessments are reviewed and when the situation or activity changes.

Quality and safety assurance activities are in place to monitor the quality of risk assessments conducted with findings raised where corrective actions are required. Areas for improvement are shared between Sectors and Direct Reporting Country (DRC) SH&EP Leads to identify any trends and share learning.

Local HR processes ensure that only appropriate personnel carry out the risk assessment and those who conduct the task being assessed are encouraged to participate in the assessment and review.

A Babcock SH&EP standard for Risk Management and Control and Supervision of Work has been issued and applies across all Babcock activity. Risk Management capability has been developed within Synergi Life to enable risk assessments and bowties to be generated, including connecting event reports and assurance findings to evidence the effectiveness of the risk controls. This standardised system will be rolled-out across Babcock by FY 23/24 to replace the existing systems.

All Babcock employees can access Synergi Life as the incident reporting system, either directly through Babcock intranet (which includes anonymous reporting) or via Union representatives or health and safety teams. Safety observations have been developed within Synergi Life to enable reporting of hazard observations, unsafe acts or conditions.

The Babcock safety policy highlights a: STOP WORK AUTHORITY – All employees are empowered through this policy to stop work if considered unsafe. The Babcock Care and Learn safety commitments encourage employees to ‘Never walk by any unsafe condition’ and ‘always assess the risks of the job before I start and if conditions change, I will stop’. These has been reinforced through safety communications from the CEO and senior leaders across Babcock.

The Babcock SH&EP standard for Event Management, Recording, Reporting and Investigation requires assessment of all events and a proportionate investigation to be conducted. The level of investigation is proportionate to the risk exposure. Investigations should be conducted by a suitably qualified individual which was previously defined locally. Babcock have initiated corporate adoption of the Kelvin TOPSET methodology for investigations with standardised training at all levels. Investigations are recorded on Synergi Life where immediate and underlying causes should be identified in order to identify the implement interventions to prevent or at least reduce the probability of re-occurrence.

It is important that investigations start as soon after the related event as possible. This is when individuals’ recollection of events will be at its strongest, and the chance that the scene and any evidence is disturbed is less likely:

• The size and scope of the investigation should be commensurate with the severity and scale of the event, the anticipated safety outcomes and follow a structured process
• To be effective the investigation should be methodical, with a structured approach to information gathering, collation and analysis
• The findings of the investigation should form the basis of an action plan to prevent the event from happening again and for improving overall management of risk, which should include review of existing controls and processes.

As in response to GRI 403-02, hazards that have the potential to cause harm to health are assessed and employees encouraged to report hazard observations. Occupational health services are available in all areas of Babcock. Such services are generally outsourced and in the UK, this is to Duradiamond. Sectors and Direct Reporting Country (DRC) have in place occupational health surveillance programmes in relation to specific tasks and roles undertaken by employees. In addition to health monitoring, Babcock makes available an employee assistance programme through a contract with CIC for support to health and wellbeing of employees. These services are publicised on noticeboards and through local Health and Safety teams.

In order to provide greater coherence, sharing good practice and assurance across Babcock, an Occupational Health Working Group has been established with representatives from all Sectors and DRCs.

Babcock is committed to worker engagement in Safety, Health and Environmental Protection (SH&EP) matters and the Visible Leadership Standard outlines the requirements for leadership engagement. These include a programme of visible leadership tours which are monitored in the Balanced Scorecard.

The CEO’s Safey Forum has been established and is held quarterly with the Babcock International Group CEO and Global Safety Director discussing safety and health matters with representatives at all levels from across the Sectors and Direct Reporting Country (DRC).

An annual Babcock wide safety stand-down is conducted in January and enables discussions with workers from across the organisation with their local management on safety and health topics relevant to their working environment and the activities they undertake.

Within the Sectors and DRCs, Safety Forums are conducted (usually monthly) with management and employees from within the business units. Adherence to the schedule of these Forums is monitored in the Balanced Scorecard. Where trade unions are active, they are represented at the Safety Forums and play an integral role in engaging with the workforce. Many sites have dedicated safety management meetings with the Trade Unions to enable the flow of information to and from the workers.

Across Babcock we utilise the intranet system (Connect) to communicate health and safety information and provide access to Standards etc. There is a ‘Monday Message’ programme for SH&EP news and information that can include vLogs and celebrating success of our colleagues by sharing from across Babcock. In addition to Connect, a mobile application, Thrive, is used to communicate via push notifications and makes available information and videos from across Babcock to both Babcock provided and personal mobile devices. The Thrive app and use of a HomeSafeEveryday inbox, which is monitored by the central SH&EP team, enable workers to make suggestions and provide feedback on activities and initiatives. In addition to this, Babcock operates a BIG ideas system where ideas for improvements to the business can be submitted by anyone and SH&EP improvements are suggested via this communication channel.

For our own employees all appropriate task-based training is available, provided and renewed as appropriate. Certain activities or tasks mandate competency, which has to be demonstrated and, in some cases, certified before individuals are allowed to undertake the task – for example the use of forklift trucks; drivers need to be suitably trained and licenced. Risk assessments for the tasks identify the competency requirements of the operators and others involved in the task.

Babcock employee managements system, Success Factors captures some of this training, but in most cases, records are held locally in a mixture of electronic and hardcopy records that can be audited.

Other Occupational Health and Safety training includes training for Display Screen Equipment assessment and use of Synergi Life reporting system. As above, standardised investigator training has recently been introduced. All records are used and retained in accordance with GDPR guidelines.

The training of non-Babcock personnel is the responsibility of the individual’s employer but dependent on the tasks they carry out they will need to prove that they are appropriately trained and certified to carry out tasks on Babcock premises.

Such services/offerings differ across Babcock but many areas have Mental Health First Aiders who are available within the workplace and can signpost people to additional services offered. In some areas and to some employees, private health care and gym membership is provided. Any personal information is subject to GDPR and handled and stored accordingly.

Any findings from Occupational Health surveys are treated confidentially and there are processes for managing any issues or concerns that may arise. Before offer of employment certain roles will require a fitness to work exam to ensure that if any concerns are raised that the worker can be protected. If concerns are raised then we work with the employee to support them in terms of PPE, work aids, access to an employee assistance programme etc.

With regards to non-Babcock workers certainly first aid and emergency medical service will be made available following incidents, but wider occupational/voluntary health services would be provided by their own employers.

Refer to GRI 403-02 above.

All Babcock employees and contracted staff that are working on Babcock property are covered by the occupational health and safety management system. This system was implemented in April 2020 and is yet to be audited in full either by internal or external auditors; however, many elements of Babcock are subject to internal audit and external audit by customers and regulators. An independent audit of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System is planned for October 2022.

Some Babcock sites and business units have actively sought and achieved accreditation to the ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System Standard and are regularly audited against this standard by a third party.

No employees or workers are excluded from the occupational health and safety management system.

There have been no work-related fatalities in Babcock this year.

We recorded 222 OSHA recordable accidents (rate per 200,000 hrs worked = 0.75), of these 166 were injuries or illnesses that required days away from work (rate per 200,000 hrs worked = 0.56).

The figures above include the injuries recorded by contractors and consultants working on Babcock property. There were 17 recordable injuries to contractors and consultants, which included 6 injuries that required days away from work.

Type of injuries: Generally, our incidents result from manual handling, slips and trips, and injuries to hands due to use of tooling which are usually minor in nature. Working at height activities present the risk with the high consequence of work-related injuries. 71% of reported injuries required no treatment or first aid only but some events with minor injuries could have resulted in more serious consequences.

The total number of hours worked is: 58,879,413. Our rates are currently calculated per 200,000 hrs worked and categorised in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines.

No workers were specifically excluded.

Refer to GRI 403-02 for how these hazards have been determined, what actions were taken or underway to eliminate these hazards and minimize risks using the hierarchy of controls. Also for any actions taken or underway to eliminate other work-related hazards and minimize risks using the hierarchy of controls.

There have been no fatalities due to work-related ill health in Babcock this year. Refer to GRI 403-09 for number of cases of work-related ill health.

Refer to GRI 403-02 for how these hazards have been determined; what actions were taken or underway to eliminate these hazards and minimize risks using the hierarchy of controls and for any actions taken or underway to eliminate other work-related hazards and minimize risks using the hierarchy of controls.

We pro-actively identify hazards to health and all known hazards are mitigated with appropriate arrangements. These include appropriate processes in place and adequate personal protective equipment available and used.

No workers were specifically excluded.