Executive summary
Date(s) of inspection:
Aim of inspection
Organisational Culture Review at Urenco Chemical Plant (UCP)
Subject(s) of inspection
- Leadership & Management for Safety - Rating: Not rated
Key findings, inspector's opinions and reasons for judgement made
This report documents the findings from a joint exercise between Urenco and ONR which sought to gain a common understanding of organisational culture at Urenco Chemical Plants (UCP). Across three days in March 2023, we carried out interviews, focus groups and observations involving over 70 people. We mapped the findings against nine cultural “warning flags” and developed insights into the culture at the site. We then analysed these outputs for patterns of behaviour and common perceptions as compared to relevant good practice.
During the intervention, we experienced positive and proactive engagement with the UCP workforce, with open and honest discussions. There was no evidence from anyone spoken to that production was prioritised over safety. However, the warning flags identified issues that could threaten the culture on the site. The key learning points are summarised as follows:
- UCP appears to assume that safety is primarily delivered through training, competence and procedures and does not appear to recognise the importance of leadership in embedding and reinforcing expected behaviours.
- UCP leadership have not clearly set out their expectations (e.g. visibility, reinforcement of behaviours, values, standards) providing a golden thread for how the UCP vision and mission for safety will be delivered.
- UCP is undergoing significant changes as it transitions from commissioning alongside the maturation of the arrangements for the facility. The introduction of new staff at all levels, recruitment, training, mentoring and embedding behavioural expectations is a challenge to the management of capability and capacity, as operational demands materialise, and could threaten performance.
I have raised a regulatory issue at Level 4 for UCP to provide a response to the findings of this inspection and show how it will develop and sustain its safety culture as the site transitions from commissioning through to fully functioning operations.
Conclusion
UCP has demonstrated that it has the capability to operate safely, and I judge that this provides a sound basis for future safe operations on TMF, as new facilities are brought online. The key learning points are:
- UCP appears to assume that safety is primarily delivered through training, competence and procedures and does not appear to recognise the importance of leadership in embedding and reinforcing expected behaviours.
- UCP leadership have not clearly set out their expectations (e.g., visibility, reinforcement of behaviours, values, standards) providing a golden thread for how the UCP vision and mission for safety will be delivered.
- UCP is undergoing significant changes as it transitions from commissioning alongside the maturation of the arrangements for the facility. The introduction of new staff at all levels, recruitment, training, mentoring and embedding behavioural expectations is a challenge to the management of capability and capacity, as operational demands materialise, and could threaten performance.
ONR encourages UCP to consider the insights from this inspection and recognise the potential threats to its organisational culture.
ONR also invites the lead team to consider the following prompts:
- How do you know whether your culture is adequate to support safe operations on TMF?
- Is your vision and mission aligned around a common goal of safety, and shared across UCP?
- How do you plan to develop, improve and sustain your organisational culture?