HSE culture project

​Oil and gas companies on the Norwegian Continental Shelf have recently implemented behavioral safety programs. The aim of these behavioral safety programs is to improve safety behavior and culture because of negative health, safety and environmental (HSE) results.The HSE culture project in GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS was not initiated in order to change the culture or enhance the safety behavior: The project aims to prepare the organization for an imagined future with good HSE results. The central premise in this project is that everyone in the organization together builds and forms their organizational culture and identity with HSE as the foundation. To fulfill its intentions the HSE culture project has different steps: Firstly, the organizational characteristics where examined and analyzed. Secondly, the organizational characteristics where used to design the organizational model. Thirdly, the organizational model was implemented in the organization. This is a systemic organizational approach to HSE: (i) employees are involved in every step of the project to make sure that the design of the organizational model reflects how they think and act. (ii) HSE is an integrated part of how the organization does their business. The projects underlying assumption is: Understanding the relation between organizational culture and HSE, and making this understanding an integrated part of the daily work practice, leads to good HSE results and overall good performance. The goal is that each and everybody in the organization will understand and integrate the knowledge about this relation in their daily work. The HSE culture project was organized as a close collaboration between GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS and researcher from NTNU Samfunnsforskning AS, Studio Apertura. Researchers from Studio Apertura have been closely involved with GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS in every step of the project. The philosophy was to have a close cooperation between the researchers and everyone in GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS, with participative learning processes as the key issue. The researchers have had the professional responsibility, which includes examining and analyzing organizational characteristics, suggesting the design and the content of the HSE culture project, helping to implement the project and evaluating the HSE culture project.