Safety at Northern Stevedoring Services (NSS) is more than a KPI, it is a key influencer and driver of performance.
Safety was the common touch point for staff and management and helped set boundaries and standards for suppliers and clients, NSS Director David Kerr said.
An emphasis on safety encouraged awareness, built communication, confidence and respect, and helped manage the expectations of third parties to the business, Mr Kerr said.
“Safety is quite paramount within the organisation and is something which is a focus from the board members,” he said.
“Then that flows into providing comfort and encouragement to prospective customers, plus your existing customer base.
“One of the things we’re trying to do is to continue to grow as an organisation or as a business and you’ve reaped those opportunities as a consequence of having a good safety record and doing what you say you’re going to do, that is delivering on time.”
Cultivating a safety-oriented culture
Planting the seed of safety helped grow an effective culture, Mr Kerr said.
“Culture isn’t born overnight. The company invests in it in the sense of you get the right people and you instil in those employees that type of attitude.
“So it is a difficult thing to build, but if everyone is aligning and buys into being safe, buys into ensuring that a customer is looked after, then the culture comes automatically and that actually builds people.
“Good people gravitate towards those types of organisations. When you’re attracting good people continuously, that makes your company stronger, and it then has the ability to grow.”
Safety as a shared responsibility
Each staff member and contractor could contribute and help influence the direction of the business by treating safety as a core value, Mr Kerr said.
“People talk about ‘tone’ from the top, but people have to buy into it and then it permeates upwards as well,” he said.
“You can have a junior person as long as they’re showing commitment to safety, as long as they’re showing commitment to turn up to the meetings on time to make certain that their customer needs are met.
“So it builds it up from the bottom up as well. It’s a combination.”
A long-time lawyer with Glencore, Mr Kerr brings his expertise and insights to NSS’s focus on integrating safety into every facet of the organisation.