SHE 365, a focus on health

SHE 365, a focus on health

Enel’s programme for health, safety and the environment launched this year is innovative in both name and content

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Words are important, and Enel put a great deal of thought into the choice of the name for the health, safety and the environment project launched this year: SHE 365. This is an acronym where the H of Health stands between the S of Safety and the E of Environment.

The traditional letter order is HSE, but the change emphasises the fact that we place health at the centre of things, flanked and supported by safety and the environment – the safety of those who work for us and the environment of the communities that host our operations throughout the world.

"For Enel safeguarding the well-being of its employees is a daily commitment. The two key areas are Safety, which refers to the health of all the people who work with and for the Group, and the Environment, which affects everyone"
Attilio Cherubini, Enel’s Head of Health, Safety, Environment and Quality
 

Guaranteed safety for contract workers, too

The name is not the only innovative aspect of the SHE 365 project – it involves safeguarding the health and safety of our employees and everyone who works with us, and that also means our contract workers. We want to include them in our approach to safety.

According to Maurizio Rossetto, Head of Health and Safety for the HSEQ unit (Health, Safety, Environment and Quality), contract workers should be treated just like members of our regular workforce. Our safety standards are high, and we want to extend the initiatives that have enabled us to achieve these standards to include our contractors, thereby helping them to maximise their safety. In short, Enel makes its experience available in a win-win scenario. 

The first step in the project is to distribute a self-assessment safety questionnaire as included in the evaluation of contractors. On the basis of the answers we analyse possible areas for improvement, and in certain cases we progress to the second stage. This takes the form of a meeting on their premises to check their safety management procedures but, above all, to discuss a possible improvement plan. 

"The commitment to safety and the environment involves all of us, whatever our role within the company . Nobody should feel excluded"
Maurizio Rossetto, Head of Health and Safety for the HSEQ unit
 

The commitment and responsibility chain

For us at Enel there can be no technical or financial result without workplace safety. It’s a fundamental message that comes from the top of the corporate hierarchy, and it has to be communicated loud and clear at all levels, including the people working in the field.

“Over the last 10 years Enel has changed the way it manages work safety,” explains Cherubini. “This new approach has enabled the Group to reduce the number of accidents in the workplace by over 80% during the last decade, while bringing safety performance up to the highest standards in all the countries where it operates.”

The second innovative element of the programme is strengthening the “Commitment Chain,” a commitment on several organisational levels to operating in line with the safety standards and environmental restrictions in the various stages of asset management, maintenance and construction.

We have organised dozens of workshops in all the countries where we are present and in all our areas of business. On these occasions we ask our staff to develop proposals on how to communicate the message to the various levels with maximum effect. The proposals are then put to the vote and the best ones are implemented.

"When speaking about safety, health and the environment the objective is not to generate a financial result – the purpose is even more important, as it’s all about people"
Maurizio Rossetto, Head of Health and Safety for the HSEQ unit
 

Innovation, listening and sharing

This top-down trajectory is accompanied by a bottom-up process. This is the third innovative aspect of the project – the basic idea is to highlight the valuable store of experience possessed by our local units and share the initiatives that have emerged, integrating them into our global approach.

The method is based on listening and sharing, reflecting our Open Power philosophy. We are open to everyone’s contributions, whether internal or external. If it works, then it doesn’t matter where it’s from!

In this way we start from actions for safety implemented in the individual business lines and the individual countries where we are present. All the initiatives are then brought together and included in a computerised platform. This is updated in real time to reflect the progress made, so that everyone can monitor the effects of the actions undertaken. In this way, as Cristiana La Marca, Head of Environment for the HSEQ unit, explains, it is also possible to share the events that have threatened to cause accidents and which often are not publicised because they have had no negative consequences. “Sharing experiences is crucial to improving health and safety in the workplace.” 

 

SHE 365 is a constant commitment

The three lines of action envisaged by the SHE 365 project have a common element: they require a constant commitment from all concerned. The responsibility at a management level is to provide visibility for subjects regarding health, safety and the environment. In order to minimise risks, staff involved in the field must give these values absolute priority over all other aspects of their work.

"There is no business rationale that can justify excessive operational risks. Furthermore, respecting high safety standards and best environmental practice is crucial for business growth"
Cristiana La Marca, Head of Environment for the HSEQ unit

Where health is concerned, there are no excuses and no pauses: attention to safety and the environment helps protect everyone’s health, every day, 365 days a year.