Everyone has a different name for management site visits, but no matter what you call them, they are an important part of any HSE program.
As provinces advance through the various stages of reopening plans, GeoVerra’s Management Field Observations (MFOs) are resuming. MFOs not only serve an important role in visibly demonstrating management’s commitment to safety to our field crews and clients, but also assists with creating a strong safety culture by:
- Providing 1:1 coaching, guidance and mentoring for field crews
- Promoting open communication between management and field crews at the field level.
- Field crews can ask project-specific questions while onsite, eliminating inefficiencies in the communication process.
- Seeing first-hand how their projects are progressing.
- Educating managers of any project specific safety issues or onsite hazards that may have an influence on the progress of the project.
- Giving managers and clients the opportunity to interact at field level. Our clients LOVE seeing our managers onsite.
- Providing opportunity for managers to commend positive behaviours and/or identify areas for improvement.
- Assessing an employee’s competency first hand and providing open feedback to employees enables employees to continuously learn and progress in their role.
One of GeoVerra’s project managers, Dale Cherpin, shared his thoughts on MFOs and why they are so crucial in his role as a people leader:
Management Field Observations have always been a critical part of my job. It’s great to see the crews in their element and their passion for the work they do. As a manager, we need to get out to site to see what our teams are dealing with daily, giving us better visibility on challenges they may be facing. It allows me to see the equipment, make sure it’s in good shape, ensure the crews have all the PPE they need. One of my favourite parts of the MFOs is connecting with the team on a more personal level and having candid conversations that aren’t always possible over Teams or on the phone.
Last but not least, getting out to the field gives me a chance to meet with clients face-to-face. My role as a manager is to make sure we’re giving our clients the best possible service and living up to our partnership promise, providing responsive, trustworthy industry expertise. When I visit some of our bigger client’s sites, I try and combine the visit with a safety field inspection to better understand the safety protocols specific to that client. If I know what we need to follow, it makes it a lot easier for me to support our crews in conversations with the client or other onsite safety personnel. One trip, two objectives = efficiency in our operations.