Development of a Contractor Management Strategy

Client: BP
Assignment: Safety performance improvement
Venues: UK Business Unit (oil production field)

We worked with this BP business unit for a number of years focused on improving safety performance and on working with the senior leadership team more generally. A variety of interventions characterised our work. One specific output, based on some the new thinking introduced, was a “contractor management strategy” (pdf download available). The approach was focused on performance management and on providing encouragement and incentive. This was in contrast to the prevailing logic in the UK oil and gas industry where performance / effort was driven through the threat of being placed in the “sin bin” – basically a “negative reinforcement” strategy. The new approach reversed the emphasis to “positive reinforcement”. The strategy proved popular and successful in improving safety performance and was subsequently recognised in BPs worldwide Helios awards programme.