By Jens Frederik Hansen, CEO, A2SEA

Are heavy investments in safety management just part of doing business in offshore wind – or are companies who prioritise such investments better positioned to succeed?

In many other industries, CEOs are often quoted saying that safety and health is key for their company’s success. But does the same apply to offshore wind construction companies? And is there a tangible competitive advantage for installation contractors who don’t just react to client safety demands but proactively think beyond?

Winning ways

Companies delivering wind turbine construction projects, if they are to remain profitable, must complete their work on schedule and on budget – and at the agreed level of quality. Increasingly however, clients have focused on supplier safety in the selection process, requiring detailed safety plans and evidence of a robust track record. Their goal is to achieve the peace of mind that a strong safety management system can give them, reducing the risk that they may be exposing themselves and their projects to liability.

Contractors who haven’t made the investments necessary to significantly lower risk may be able to operate at lower costs, but they are unlikely to make it past pre-qualification during the bidding process. In fact, without a proven track record around managed safety, there’s little chance of success, at least in European waters.

In the bidding process, therefore, companies that can demonstrate to the client that they have a well-developed health and safety programme that effectively protects the safety of their own workers and the customer’s are clearly advantaged.

A strategic choice

When you have installed as many turbines and foundations as A2SEA has, market leadership in terms of delivered projects could be assumed to be a given. But if we look at how we want to be positioned in the marketplace in general, it’s key to be best-in-class in safety, too. We see safety as part of an installation contractor’s value proposition to its customers, and therefore as an important component of the overall product.

Of course, adopting appropriate healthy and safe workplace practices carries significant investment costs. With time however, once the practices are integrated as part of core business processes and the company culture, broad business benefits begin to outweigh these costs.

How much investment?

If investments in safety can be seen as a boosting competitive advantage, then a question to be considered is the appropriate level of investment it is wise to make. On the one hand, there is the reactive level – complying with customer requirements to qualify for and deliver projects. On the other is a strategic level where leadership in safety becomes a mission for the company that transcends project specifications.

I’m strongly in favour of the latter approach, particularly because it reflects the mantra that today’s successful companies follow: being closer to the customer. When you put yourself in the customer’s shoes, their concerns become your concerns. By focusing on their priorities and working to exceed rather than meet customer expectations, you will develop a valuable and viable reputation along the way. Safety becomes another way to get closer to the customer – and thus becomes a key part of a winning business strategy.

Productivity enhancer

But the business case for safety stretches much further than finding favour with customers. From an internal perspective, safety can be a productivity enhancer rather than a risk management function alone. Why? Because it represents a commitment to employee well-being. And employees who feel safe, secure and supported by the company are more likely to be supportive of the company’s strategy and goals in return.

If we succeed engaging staff in safety, we learn valuable lessons for engaging them in other company priorities and initiatives at the same time – not least of which are those related to productivity. Related to this is the fact that employees who are encouraged to care for each other as part of the company culture are likely to work better together in all manner of tasks, boosting performance across the board.

The negative fallout resulting from, for example, loss of life, can be devastating not just for the employee’s family, but for the company as a whole. While bad luck can befall even the best prepared of companies, it is my firm belief that under such circumstances, those that have taken decisive, consistent action in an attempt to prevent such tragedies will stand stronger, protecting business viability and shareholder investments. Fewer fingers will be pointed at management, and morale, while affected, could be expected to be more resilient.

Employee recruitment and retention

Knowhow-dependent businesses such as A2SEA are highly dependent on the continued availability of their employees, most of whom possess specialised knowledge. So it’s just as important to be an employer of choice as it is to be a contractor of choice. To this end, a strong safety programme sends a signal that the company is a good employer, making it easier to attract a full complement of skilled, experienced, and engaged staff. It’s worth noting, too, that safety is even more important to younger employees than to many of the industry’s veterans.

Licence to operate

At A2SEA, we talk about safety as our “licence to operate”. A high level of health and safety performance is an important enabler for our growth, providing a foundation to grow our business much more effectively and enabling us to obtain better returns while maximising competitive advantage. In many ways, safety can be seen as a driver for overall professionalism: a proper safety management programme requires us to act in a highly professional manner, and its structured, detailed approach impacts on other parts of our business, too, meaning that the culture of safety directly supports an overall culture of professionalism.

In the end, it is really about delivering our value proposition to the client, just as promised. Investing in safety management as a competitive advantage means we can keep people from harm, provide high professional standards of service and minimise customer liabilities for every project – all the while building a stronger and better employer proposition for our staff and a more profitable, more sustainable return for our shareholders.

The business case for safety

• Protecting employees and the investments made in employees
• Supporting the company’s case for supplier selection
• Better employee recruitment/retention
• Minimising insurance and liability costs
• Better project quality
• Reduced downtime
• Protecting reputation

 

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