‘Systems that value stories and storytelling are potentially more reliable …. people know more about the system, know more of the potential errors that might occur, and…are more confident that they can handle those errors that do occur’’
‘Organisational Culture as a source of High Reliability’ Karl E Weick*
On January 24th 2018 a serious incident took place in a cinema in Dusseldorf. Similar incidents took place on power plants across Europe from 2019 to 2024. The bad news is that in all cases the unexpected release of latent energy resulted in what could have been life changing injuries. The good news is each of these incidents were simulated, part of a b.SAFE Reenactment Workshop. These workshops were run by Beehive for Uniper. Called ‘change the conversation, change the culture’, Uniper was using the workshops to enhance their safety culture with the transformative power of storytelling and reenactment.
Intentional error
After each incident was played out scene by scene the groups held a debrief to discuss how the interpersonal relationships and behaviours of the characters contributed to the end result. This was followed by key skills development which Beehive designed to meet the specific needs of the client. Then a clear plan to avoid a similar incident was discussed and agreed. Finally, the participants had the chance to change the ending; to work with the actors to change the conversations and behaviours and prevent the accident from happening again. Because humans engage with stories more than facts all participants, whatever their level of experience or understanding, became engrossed in the action. In all cases the participants left with better skills and more motivated and inspired to make changes back at work. This is why reenactment workshops are so powerful. They reach the parts of the workforce other types of development just don’t reach. As one participant commented:
The activities that made you stop and think differently. They made you reflect and dig deeper into why
Uniper b.SAFE Reenactment Workshop participant
Scenario reenactment
Scenario re-enactment is widely used in safety critical industries where trial and error is simply not an option for learning. Event rehearsal and contingency planning are both situations in which role play is a powerful tool.
But how does storytelling and reenactment enhance your organisational safety culture? And what sets the b.SAFE reenactment workshops apart? It’s their focus. They hone in on interpersonal relationships, lack of trust and immature safety culture. They explore how these latent conditions make accident and injury so much more likely. And having an in-house script writer, co-director of Beehive and b.SAFE Sara Lodge, means the scripts and workshops can be tailored directly to the client’s needs.
Beehive’s research partnership with Bangor University
Mark Sykes, co-director of Beehive and b.SAFE, and Sara have spent the last fifteen years providing high quality behavioural training to safety critical industries. Originally an organisational development consultancy specialising in behaviour change, the shift in focus to safety culture took place after Sara partnered with Bangor University’s Wales Centre for Behaviour Change, part of the Psychology Department, in 2013.
She worked with client Alstom Power Services and neuropsychologist Paul Carter to conduct research into the Bradley Curve, in particular the key interpersonal factors that most contribute to Interdependent safety culture. This is the culture associated with the lowest levels of accident, injury and defect. From this Sara developed a model of trust-based safety culture and what is now Beehive’s flagship safety leadership programme, the b.SAFE D2iP (Dependency to Interdependency) programme. b.SAFE, Beehive’s safety culture brand, was born.
‘b.SAFE Reenactments’
The shift to reenactment workshops for Beehive was a by-product of this work. Sara and Mark designed the first workshop to address a lack of compliance in Alstom’s workforce in relation to Permits to Work. Bringing an on-site incident resulting from a PtW violation into the training room created immediate impact. Participants were given the chance to use their new skills immediately to change the outcome of the scenario. Because of this, the impact of individual behaviours on safety was brought to life in a way that no other form of training had done before. The effects were dramatic. Incidents involving permits dropped by half in the next year. That’s why Beehive developed the b.SAFE Reenactment Workshops – because they work. As another participant comments:
The acting adds a fun and practical twist to the education. This is one of the best courses I have ever attended.
Uniper b.SAFE Reenactment Workshop participant
Trust-based safety culture
The trust-based safety culture model that Sara developed as a result of the research partnership has informed Beehive’s unique approach to psychological safety and safety behaviours ever since. Because of this, since 2014 Beehive has worked with clients across the power sector, delivering reenactment workshops in UK and Europe. This is alongside their flagship 12 month safety leadership programme, the b.SAFE D2iP. The D2iP is designed to help people move along the Bradley Curve. Part of it is delivered at the Brathay Trust in Cumbria, an organisation that Beehive has a long collaborative relationship with. Brathay is a specialist in experiential learning, and its unique learning environment is another way Beehive makes its safety training high impact. To hear the power of the combination of Beehive’s expertise and Brathay’s resources, listen to Geoff Livingstone, a participant on the b.SAFE D2iP Safety leadership programme.
Creating a workshop – script writing and design
‘Writing a script for a client is a complex task’, said Sara, Beehive director. ‘The scenarios are often based on one or more real incidents. I can’t write them too close to the real action. But I have to write them close enough to it to be recognised and credible to the audience! I need to make the characters and events believable. The task and incident have to be credible and staged to create genuine shock and impact. Like any drama there has to be a convincing dilemma to drive the behaviours. Then I have to include variety, humour and tension across different scenes to keep the audience interested. This is while incorporating the specific client safety management system and correct terminology. Then the workshop content has to be developed and designed around this. It’s a bit like putting a jigsaw together!’
Delivering the workshop
‘This becomes more complicated when we are delivering to different countries and in different languages and cultures.’ Mark continues. ‘On the Uniper project we have delivered native language workshops in Germany, Sweden, Netherlands and Hungary. Not everything translates across languages. But we’re talking about human dilemmas and they are the same across continents. There are logistical challenges in taking the workshops onto site too. However, having been on the road with our teams delivering in Sweden, France, The Netherlands and Germany as well as UK I’ve seen how the different national as well as site cultures respond to the concept. It’s always the same, they always engage. That’s why we use reenactment and storytelling in our safety education.’
Showcase event
On October 23rd 2024 Beehive will be showcasing their reenactment workshops at a seminar at Brathay Hall in Cumbria. We want participants to experience one of the workshops, as well as explore Brathay’s unique learning environment. Beehive and Brathay have a close collaborative relationship, sharing the same values and methodologies, and their partnership is a long and productive one. To see if you are eligible for an invitation to the seminar and to find out more about the b.SAFE Reenactment Workshops please contact info@beecld.co.uk.
To find out more about people development at Brathay Trust please go to https://www.brathay.org.uk/people-development/
*Weick, Karl E., ‘Organisational Culture as a source of High Reliability’,California Management Review, Volume XXIX, Number 2, Winter 1987 – p113
