Three Year Safety Strategy to Drive Target Zero - Bristow

Bristow Group is embarking on a renewed effort to achieve
leadership in safety as part of its pursuit of operational
excellence. “It’s a tall order, because there are a lot of
good companies with good safety records,” says Jon Stripling,
Director, Global Standards, Quality, Safety & Training. “But I
don’t see any reason why we can’t achieve a leading position.”
Impartial assessment
The first step is to see where Bristow stands today in safety
In the meantime, employees will receive an invitation to participate in
a computer-based Target Zero safety training refresher course. “We
always need to stay vigilant and current in our training,” Stripling says.
“Complacency is our enemy.”
Getting to Target Zero
Stripling praises several Bristow business units for having achieved
Target Zero, demonstrating that the goal of perfection – zero accidents
– is possible.
management, so the company has engaged Baines Simmons, a leader
in airworthiness and aviation safety consulting and training services, to
make an independent and impartial assessment.
“We have already realized a big step change in safety through Target
Zero,” he says. “Now as we draw nearer to zero and the fine-tuning
phase of our safety strategy, we have to double our efforts to continue to
“Over the next several weeks, they will be conducting a Safety
make improvements.”
Management Diagnostic at Bristow facilities around the world, using
surveys, interviews, observations and focus groups to evaluate our current
policies and procedures that we use to manage safety,” Stripling says.
Stripling stresses that the aspirations for the new safety strategy
encompass every Bristow activity, from flight operations to all actions
involving safety, health and the environment.
The diagnostic will make its evaluation across five major focus areas:
• Leadership: Do Bristow’s leaders set the strategic direction for safety
and are they actively leading the company toward a world-class
safety management system?
“We need to have a shared vision within Bristow that Target Zero is
achievable and sustainable,” he says. “We need to be aligned in what
we do and how we act, and never forget that safety comes first.”
• Capability: Does Bristow have the infrastructure to support the
management of safety?
• Competence: Is Bristow equipped with the necessary knowledge and
skills to perform safely?
• Compliance and assurance: Is Bristow fulfilling the requirements to
provide oversight and assurance?
• Culture: Does Bristow’s behavior support the principles of safety
management?
“From talking to our staff and seeing what we do, Baines Simmons will
generate a report that will provide a clear picture of our capability and
performance as well as identify potential gaps and leading practices,”
Stripling says. “This will help us prioritize where we need to invest our
resources as well as recognize where we are being successful.”
Communications strategy
With the information from the diagnostic in hand, Bristow’s senior
management team and business unit leaders will embark on a series of
briefings to share the results with employees around the world. “We want
as much feedback as possible from these sessions, and from there we will
pinpoint the actions we need to take to reach Target Zero,” Stripling says.
“We always need to stay vigilant and current
in our training. Complacency is our enemy.”
– Jon Stripling, Director, Global Standards,
Quality, Safety & Training
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