British Gas’s innovative ASSIST approach to customer safety took the SHP-IOSH 2012 Awards by storm. Nearly two years on, Nick Warburton looks back and reports on its progress.
The elderly woman is in her lounge. She has one eye on the TV and the other on the British Gas service engineer who is assessing the job before deciding which tools to bring into the property.
As the engineer tapes down the dust sheet and carefully positions her toolbox out of harm’s way, she is conscious of the elderly woman’s movements and provides regular updates on her work.
Popping out to collect the vacuum cleaner, she first reminds the customer that she has a toolbox and dust sheet in the kitchen but has left a clear pathway for the elderly woman to use.
Accidents, no matter how rare, can happen and British Gas has put customer safety at the heart of its service approach.
Even so, it’s still a challenge to strike the right balance. Service and repair work requires concentration yet the engineers must also ensure that they engage with the customer and remain aware of their movements.
As the engineer returns her equipment to the vehicle, she is conscious that the potential for accidents can increase when the service and repair work has been completed and the engineer is tidying up.
First rolled out in late 2011 after a successful trial, ASSIST is now British Gas’s formal operational approach; quite literally it has revolutionised the way its engineers deal with customers when carrying out service and repair work.
The approach requires the engineer to consider the customer when they carry out a dynamic risk assessment at the start of any visit. It is a simple process to follow:
Assess the customer and job.
Settle the customer, considering their physical, psychological and social needs.
Set up in a safe manner.
Inform the customer and check back regularly.
Share concerns with your manager.
Think about your work and raise your risk assessment.
According to Andrew Bird, who was senior operational safety manager when ASSIST was first developed and won the SHP-IOSH award for best health and safety achievement in Utility and Offshore in October 2012, customer safety has long been ingrained in British Gas’s DNA.
“The culture is very much around protecting the customer and the customer’s property as well,” he says.
A unique approach, ASSIST applies to all customers, with additional attention paid to those that are most at-risk — often the elderly, and especially those with impaired hearing or vision.
ASSIST came about in mid-2011 after engineers reported incidents that had led to customer injuries. A dozen or so similar events had been reviewed in the first six months and the similarities were striking.
The overall analysis showed that the general profile was elderly people, living on their own, who would trip or fall over the engineer’s blue toolbox or equipment.
“We’d gone into their homes and introduced an additional trip hazard,” Andy explains.
“We needed to be more conscious of where we were putting our tools and equipment in the property.”
The trend was highlighted at British Gas’s safety governance board. As a result, a group of engineers who had reported accidents was brought into a workshop to discuss the issue and identify a way forward.
All senior managers made this a priority; the new approach started by looking at engineers’ ways of working around customers.
The first step was to improve the visibility of the standard toolbox for older customers. Engineers were also asked to communicate effectively with the customer while managing the work area.
At preliminary team briefings, 12,000 stickers were fixed to the blue toolboxes. These depicted a speech bubble that reminded the engineer to put it in a safe place but also provided a talking point should the customer see it.
Since the toolbox had been identified as a potential trip hazard by engineers, British Gas also decided to source an alternative carriage system and a replacement rucksack was trialled by 50 engineers during late 2011.
The trial proved to be a resounding success and went down especially well with engineers in urban areas; they were easier to carry than the blue toolboxes and were particularly handy if engineers were visiting blocks of flats and had to park some distance from the property.
However, feedback from engineers indicated that the toolbox itself was not the overriding problem. Rather, it was where the equipment was positioned as the engineer undertook service and repair work.
A decision was made therefore to retain the standard blue toolbox but to add a black and yellow chevron tape to enhance its visibility.
As a further, but essential, measure, engineers were asked to communicate clearly with the customer and to highlight specific risks before bringing any equipment into the home.
“They inform the customer about what they are doing, they understand the customers’ needs and they react through the entire job,” Andy explains.
Jeff Greene, British Gas’s safety and operations director, personally delivered training to all of the line managers and safety representatives at sessions around the country, which was then cascaded to engineers. This included a video that demonstrated the ASSIST approach.
“I felt it appropriate to personally brief all the teams nationally to ensure it was delivered and implemented consistently,” he explains.
Customer safety continues to be routinely tracked by national safety governance and remains a key focus area at British Gas’s monthly business updates.
Less than a year after it was officially rolled out nationwide, engineers were able to point out the benefits.
When British Gas submitted the ASSIST approach to the SHP-IOSH awards in June 2012, engineers had recorded a 75 per cent reduction in customer accidents compared to the same period the previous year. But
the positives did not end there.
“Part of the strength of the campaign and the submission is the fact that this wasn’t just about this safety issue. We also saw a lot of other benefits,” adds Andy.
One of the biggest positives is that general business performance has improved; this has largely been attributed to the fact that the engineers engage more effectively with customers.
“We have seen ongoing improvements in our business and ASSIST is now an intrinsic part of how we operate,” says Jeff.
“We continue to share our good practice with our customers and suppliers.”
SHP would be interested to hear from other previous SHP-IOSH award winners about how their winning project has progressed.
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