Improving site safety through art

An ExxonMobil site has been raising awareness about safety reports in a unique way – by getting employees’ children and grandchildren to express their artistic side.

The plant safety committee at Purfleet Terminal wanted to highlight the tools available for reporting near-misses and defects. The terminal supervisor suggested a competition inviting the kids to design posters themed around their importance for capturing problems.

The reasoning was that the employees would have to first think about the company’s various reporting mechanisms in order to explain them to the young designers.

All the posters were reviewed by the safety committee, with iPods awarded to the winners in two age groups and smaller prizes to the other entrants. All the youngsters were invited on site for a tour, and their posters are now displayed around the site.