Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to critically review the research literature on safety coaching, with a particularly focus towards work in safety critical environments such as oil and gas, manufacturing and driving. Design/methodology/approach-A literature review was undertaken of existing research to assess whether safety coaching could be applied in the offshore oil and gas industry. Findings-The paper suggests that coaching may offer some potential in helping support learning, behavior change and is consistent with feedback and development approaches used in behavioural-based safety. Research limitations/implications-Further research would be needed to test the value of coaching to this new environment. Practical implications-The paper informs practice on the development of coach training for safety coaching offshore. Originality/value-The paper offers a new understanding of the potential of safety coaching in a new area of practice.
Safety coaching interventions have become a common feature in the safety critical offshore working environments of the North Sea. Whilst the beneficial impact of coaching as an organizational tool has been evidenced, there remains a question specifically over the use of safety coaching and its impact on behavioural change and producing safe working practices. A series of 24 semi-structured interviews were conducted with three groups of experts in the offshore industry: safety coaches, offshore managers and HSE directors. Using a thematic analysis approach, several significant themes were identified across the three expert groups including connecting with and creating safety ownership in the individual, personal significance and humanisation, ingraining safety and assessing and measuring a safety coach's competence. Results suggest clear utility of safety coaching when applied by safety coaches with appropriate coach training and understanding of safety issues in an offshore environment. The current work has found that the use of safety coaching in the safety critical offshore oil and gas industry is a powerful tool in managing and promoting a culture of safety and care.
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