CASE STUDY: 

Client: 2 Sisters Food Group

Industry: Food & drink 

Location: Several factories based throughout the UK

Health and Safety record: Good, with potential to be better.  

Safety goals: Zero harm

Synopsis: Acting Up took 2SFG through our process, the client having opted to make use of our complete suite of options.

OUTLINE:

In 2014, Jackie Wooldridge, Head of HSE at 2SFG, approached Acting Up, having heard about us from a family member who attended a construction event where Acting Up was performing. 

BRIEF:

Jackie invited Acting Up to perform for her Safety Leadership Team and talk about the type of work we deliver, with the intention that The Safety Leadership Team watched a live performance of Gail’s Shoes and the film Dead Jed.  

OUR PROCESS:

Acting Up was then invited to perform at the 2SFG Safety Leadership Conference 2014.  The audience of 150 watched Gail’s Shoes and the film Dead Jed and were then invited, at their tables to work on their own stories. Each table was tasked with coming up with a film pitch, inspired by what they had seen, used their knowledge and experience of their time at 2SFG, to make a film.  The film idea was to include the personalities involved in a likely accident scenario and how the accident happened.

A judging panel were invited to select the best ideas.

RESULTS:

Jackie Wooldridge was pleased to see the effect of breaking convention on safety matters.  She decided to commission the film ideas and gave Acting Up a budget to commence production.  

After shooting, editing and adding music and sound effects, our film Pete, running at under 15 minutes, was ready to show to the Leadership Team.  During the edit process Acting Up also produced a trailer by way of a teaser so that Jackie could present it at an HSE leadership event as a taste of what was to come.

Acting Up ran a workshop where the Leadership Team gave their reactions to the film.  The first moments after the screening were silent.  The team were extremely moved and once they recovered from the initial feelings generated by the film, they quickly identified a myriad of safety themes in the film from which train the trainer material could be developed.  

TRAINING SOLUTIONS:

It was decided that Acting Up would create a delivery pack on a USB card which included the film, a workshop PowerPoint process plan complete with trainer’s notes, a crib sheet for the trainer as well as specific 2SFG materials (safe system information, mini audit notes etc), an evaluation form, and Acting Up also produced a key ring to be given to each employee, with a photo from the film on it, as a takeaway anchor.

Acting Up then developed Pete as an e-learning module and created an interactive module around it for the individual user.  It is now available via Acting Up World. 

FURTHER CREATIVE INTERACTION:

Ranjit Bopran, CEO of 2SFG also became involved, asking us to deliver a piece of Guerrilla theatre, where an actor posing as the wife of an injured employee burst into the board meeting to challenge where the company’s safety values lay.  This piece of theatre caused a stir amongst the board and the actor convinced the board that she was in earnest.  The case was real, even if the board were being duped to a certain extent. 

At the end of the meeting, having been shaken by the infiltration, the board was told that the woman was in fact acting, but all agreed that this had been a very realistic scenario, and that it brought home how ugly a safety incident could become and how very important it was to lead from the top.

LEARNING OUTCOME:  

WE KNOW THAT visual SHOCK FACTOR CAUSES A CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE.  WHEN FACED WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF WHAT COULD REALLY HAPPEN, the board, leadership team and workforce were all moved and open to making and creating change within their culture.  We call this “THE ACTING UP MINDSET SHIFT”

CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW WAS THE ACTING UP PROCESS IS IMPLEMENTED? 

LIVE STIMULUS : Placing a live theatrical performance within the corporate situation

WORKSHOP:   We invited the workforce to create their own scenarios

SCRIPTING: Acting Up used these scenarios to make a script that was both relevant and inspired by the safety personality of the company: everyone gets involved

FILM PRODUCTION: We brought the ideas to life with an amazing short film, Pete.

DELIVERY PACK:  Train the trainer packs, USB cards which included the bespoke film, a workshop PowerPoint process plan complete with trainer’s notes, a crib sheet for the trainer as well as specific 2SFG materials (safe system information, mini audit notes etc), an evaluation form, and Acting Up also produced a key ring to be given to each employee, with a photo from the film on it, as a takeaway anchor.

WIDENING THE REACH: learning material becomes an e learning module

FOLLOW UP: refresher using teaser and anchors.

FINAL OUTCOME:  we left the 2SFG workforce in no doubt that their management value their input as much as they value their output.

ANALYSIS:  A Happy Team + An informed team  = A Safe Team