Assurance Americas, Worley

I first learned about the ‘Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA)’ https://www.lean.org/lexicon-terms/pdca/ process of getting things done in 2013, when I joined a global engineering and construction company as the VP of Health, Safety, Security, Environmental, and Quality (HSSEQ).

The PDCA method for continuous improvement is a key element of quality lean management applicable to processes, products, or services. This approach, which formed the basis of the company’s approach to driving effective work as well as its culture, has been part of heavy industry work processes for a long period of time. 

While this simple and highly effective method of getting things done was new to me in 2013, I quickly learned and integrated it into how to serve and lead in safety and continue to use it to this day.  

A look at the basic elements of the PDCA process:

Plan – Identify the steps that need to happen to get things done. This can include new things or improving current things.

Do – Execute the steps identified in the plan to manage the effective flow and completion of getting things done.

Check – Routinely assess how the plan is being followed and how it supports the overall goal of getting things done effectively. 

Act – Support the continued actions of getting things done or modify the original plan/behaviors supporting it to effectively get things done.

Building on that, here are some basic steps for making things happen effectively in the safety leadership space:

• Ensure that the plan captures the hearts and souls of the work-family members by ensuring it meets the safety needs of everyone (e.g., safe work plan, safe work permit, job hazard analysis).

 • Make it inclusive - the execution of the plan must include all work family members so they can take ownership of all the learnings and successes.

 • Make it adaptable – As you roll out the plan, make sure that it evolves and that it will feed and/or build upon itself (Plan, Do, Check, and Act / Adjust). The plan must have elements that show the work-family how performance can look if everything is executed as planned.

• The plan must start out with easily achievable and measurable milestones with ever-increasing performance challenges as it matures (e.g., routine safety assessments and executive safety leadership visits).

• The plan and the described outcome must be in line with what is important to the work family. The plan's deliverables must be deemed as value-adding to the work-family (e.g., financial gain, job security, safe work, and others).

• Everyone must be kept abreast of progress (e.g., achievements and challenges) continuously. Shortcomings of plan execution goals must be checked and responded to continuously (e.g., incident reviews, investigations, and shared lessons learned).

• The plan must be sustainable and reactive to changes in the environment, changes to experiences in applying the current plan, changes in work family members, and other changes that need to be applied to support the delivery of safe work.

“The plan must be sustainable and reactive to changes in the environment”

The PDCA application to Safety Leadership was a profound focus for me at my previous company. The method was particularly effective because the work-family supported diverse customers in different work environments and cultures globally. We chose to keep our HSSEQ strategy basic to allow it to complement any of our customers’ safety expectations and processes. Our application of the PDCA method for Safety Leadership consisted of

Safety Leadership Strategy Statement:

• We aspired to create and sustain a culture of Safety Leadership that empowered all workers (employees and contractors) to use safe work systems that eliminate unsafe behaviors and conditions to ensure a safe place of work.  

• We were focused on achieving the Target Zero Culture every day by being individually committed to eliminating injuries, incidents, adverse environmental impacts, and threats to personnel and assets.

• We encouraged people to take these safe work practices into their home life.

To summarize, this is what the plan entailed:

1. Plan - Anticipate and control all risks before work is initiated.

2. Do – Practice for Self, Mentor, and Coach others on safe work.

3. Check – Constantly observe and communicate safety issues, lessons learned, and accomplishments.

4. Act - Adjust Job Safety Plans if work activities, work conditions, or other changes (Stop Unsafe Work).

The application of the Plan, Do, Check, Act methodology in normal work processes and in safety leadership is not only supported by the company’s delivery of effective and successful projects. It is also supported as a ‘good to great’ safety performance. Continuously improving the PDCA process year after year led us to be acknowledged as the best safety performance year in 2017 for that company. I continue to apply this methodology in my current role and can directly see the impact it has on safety performance. 

I personally use the Plan, Do, Check, and Act at home and at work to get things done with great success.