A targeted approach, based on the business activity and country, has always been fundamental in identifying and preventing risks to people’s health and safety. Each business line and division maps its major risks based on its operational experience so that it can take preventive measures that are best suited to its business activities and local context.
A health and safety risk analysis is conducted ahead of any work situation. It takes into account the work environment, the characteristics of the project under consideration and its specific technical requirements. These multiple layers of analysis are needed to develop a response that is tailored to the operational issues of each project, business activity and country.
The Institute for an Industrial Safety Culture (ICSI) assisted VINCI in 2018 in mapping major risks at Group level. ICSI interviewed the health and safety directors of VINCI business lines and divisions over several months to identify the major risks that the Group’s activities have in common and to assess the tools used to manage these risks. The Health and Safety Coordination unit reviews this risk map every year.
The risk mapping identified six major risk categories and their associated types of potentially major events. A major risk is defined as the actual or potential risk that a major event occurs and has severe consequences for a subject (employee, temporary worker, subcontractor or third party). Severity level is determined based on situations and events that have actually occurred as well as those that were potentially serious, meaning that in slightly different circumstances, the consequences could have been major.
| Major risk categories | Types of potentially major event |
|---|---|
| Risks relating to moving objects | Risks relating to moving objects Types of potentially major event Collision with moving equipment or materials |
| Major risk categories Collision with worksite machines or vehicles |
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| Major risk categories Collision with third-party vehicles |
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| Risks relating to falling objects or load | Risks relating to falling objects or load Types of potentially major event Blows from falling objects or materials |
| Major risk categories Blows from the collapse of a structure |
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| Major risk categories Crushing from the fall of a suspended load |
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| Risks relating to working at height | Risks relating to working at height Types of potentially major event Falling from heights |
| Risks relating to energised or pressure equipment | Risks relating to energised or pressure equipment Types of potentially major event Electrocution |
| Major risk categories Projection of high-pressure fluids |
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| Major risk categories Projection of pressure machinery parts |
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| Risks relating to handheld mechanical tools | Risks relating to handheld mechanical tools Types of potentially major event Cuts and punctures from sharp handheld mechanical tools |
| Risks relating to road traffic | Risks relating to road traffic Types of potentially major event Road accidents |
In response to identified risks, business lines and divisions develop their own risk prevention policies. These establish a set of guidelines to be applied by all operations in their scope. As a result, each entity applies guidelines from multiple sources – the Group, the business line, the division and the entity itself. These rules strengthen and complement one another, producing a response that is tailored to the on-the-ground realities of each sector, activity or operational context. They form the framework that determines the preventive actions to be incorporated into operating procedures, work instructions and the organisation of work. All business lines apply special scrutiny to major risks. These guidelines and the resulting actions taken are part of a continuous improvement effort and are regularly reviewed, especially in response to health and safety audit results, employee surveys and feedback and analysis of accidents and near misses.
In 2021, VINCI Concessions published a safety handbook that describes the five pillars of its safety culture. These mainly focus on understanding and integrating the Group’s requirements; ensuring manager training, involvement and evaluation; carrying out in-depth analyses of risks and accidents and sharing and communicating the results; and spreading the safety culture in every country by engaging employees, their representatives and outside companies. This document was made available in 12 languages and shared with all companies. These entities are responsible for applying the guidelines and developing an action plan tailored to their situation. Subcontractors participating in the construction and operating phases are included in the health and safety management system.
VINCI Energies supports the view that a strong safety culture must be embedded in the everyday practices of each individual. It promoted the six pillars of its safety culture during Safety Week. The pillars are the common areas on which all companies must collectively focus for a stronger safety culture: exemplary leadership, transparency, sharing of lessons learned, commitment, risk awareness and understanding of procedures.
In 2021, VINCI Construction fully revised its health and safety policy, as a consequence of the business line’s recent reorganisation. It created working groups to share best practices and innovations from both of the now merged business lines and to enhance and strengthen the shared safety culture. The culture’s three core values were quickly identified: transparency, exemplary conduct and dialogue. The business line continues to apply existing guidelines, such as the “Building in safety” methodology, which provides a framework for managing risks at each of a project’s key stages. It incorporates safety concerns into work instructions and procedures early on, beginning at the design stage. During the work execution phase, the works manager holds a pre-start briefing with the site team prior to starting a new job to ensure that everyone has fully understood the work that has to be done and the safety measures that need to be taken. Whenever a situation is unclear or a change is made that could create a hazard, the “Building in safety” approach also encourages participants to stop and alert their supervisor. Most entities combine the approach with golden rules to be followed by all workers to prevent major risks. Many other country-specific and business-specific guidelines are applied to improve the management of major risks. Based on the results of a survey on health and safety climate perceptions, to which more than 33,000 employees responded, VINCI Construction held workshops to discuss the findings. Many of its entities apply a root cause analysis process after an accident or near miss.
