Playing the safety deck

Every year begins with plans to improve on last year - especially in safety. Parsons Brinckerhoff has a new safety initiative to get back on deck for another year … safely, which is getting a fair amount of attention from its employees and clients who come in for meetings.

At Parsons Brinckerhoff, every meeting begins with a SHEQ moment. That’s every meeting - whether it is with employees or clients. Every meeting stops and reflects on stories or learnings that could result in saving a project deliverable, the environment or even a life.

The initiative is aimed at sharing ideas about safety, health, environment or quality (SHEQ) in a productive and thought-provoking manner using its so-called ‘Deck of SHEQ.’

The Deck of SHEQ is available in meeting rooms in each of its offices. Each card in the deck outlines a statistic or well-researched fact intended to stimulate conversation, such as “talking on the phone while driving can result in conversation blindness” or “fatigue plays a role in 90% of accidents”.

Rather than trivialise discussions, the company says the Deck of SHEQ has pumped them full of life, helping to reinforce a positive culture within its business.

There’s a few ways to play the cards:

Option 1: Random selection: Nominate a dealer to select a card at random and share a SHEQ moment based on that card.

Option 2: Preferred pick: Give the full Deck of SHEQ to someone. They turn one card at a time until they find a message that personally resonates with them and then share a SHEQ moment based on that card.

Option 3: Round the room: One card is dealt to each person in the room. A volunteer then shares a SHEQ moment based on an issue that they can directly relate to. Keep dealing until someone has a story to share.

The company says the Deck of SHEQ means they are never stuck for a SHEQ moment and they begin the year as they intend to go on - safely.