(41k) Using Gamification for Promoting Process Safety Management in Mining Projects

The Brazilian mining industry was recently shaken by two of the most severe incidents in its history. In 2019, the collapse of Vale's Brumadinho dam resulted in the death of 270 people, becoming Brazil's largest workplace accident in terms of loss of human lifes, and the second largest industrial disaster of the century. In 2015, Samarco, a subsidiary of Vale, was held responsible for the Mariana dam collapse, which caused the greatest environmental impact in Brazilian history and the largest disaster worldwide involving tailings dams, with 62 million cubic meters of tailings released into the environment.

In response to these events, Vale initiated the largest cultural shift in its history in 2019, revising its purpose, core values, key behaviors, and Process Safety and Risk Management policies. The company recognized that a healthy process safety culture cannot be imposed but must be cultivated over time, with leaders persuading employees of the benefits of this culture for everyone. This process requires patience and consistency to build workers' trust, and ensure that the change is not seen as a passing fad.

The first step taken was to focus on the pillar of Hazard Identification and Risk Analysis, due to the urgency and severity of the situation. However, it became increasingly evident that training and culture in Process Safety Management are fundamental steps for this management model to function effectively.

When we started the process of promoting the culture, we initially focused on leadership training and soon realized the need for an approach capable of surpassing the barrier of understanding basic concepts, and promoting the involvement and main role of the team in developing and implementing Process Safety projects.

In order to achieve this, it was necessary to consolidate the concept of Process Safety Culture, remove barriers to the fundamental execution of Process Safety, map practical solutions for the use of Process Safety in projects, and engage teams to become Process Safety multipliers, in line with their current responsibilities, to operate throughout Vale's project chain.

Vale is focused on people and believes that growth and improvement materialize through them. By associating this focus with the key behavior of obsession with safety and risk management and the ambition to be a reference in safety and the most reliable operator, it is adopted the solution of training the team using game techniques.

The game was chosen in the Space Race format because Process Safety is a dense and relatively new subject where the game favors the approach and teamwork. Games are recognized as one of the best methodologies for managing attention, providing playful learning, immediate feedback, and a sense of fun.

The game used resources that enhanced the results, such as:

- Immersive environment with a Space Race theme

- Teams representing the key behaviors expected by Vale: Open Dialogue, Active Listening, Empowerment with Commitment, and Ownership, working together with the Obsession for Safety in Risk Management

- Use of the RBPS pillars as each planet to be conquered: Commitment to Process Safety, Understanding Hazards and Risks, Risk Management, and Learning from Experience

- Top Secret folder linking RBPS elements with VPS (Vale Production System), Vale's management model

- A common 'enemy' to all teams, Vulnerabilidadis Mortallis, in the conquest of planets/pillars

- Jury with technical legitimacy to evaluate the strategies created by the teams using predefined criteria

In addition to the game, which increases the team's energy, engagement, and absorption levels, at the end each participant makes a personal and anonymous commitment to the development of Process Safety in Projects.

The Process Safety in Projects Immersion has already trained more than 450 people, with 25% of these participants being project leaders, through one pilot class and ten classes in Brazil, in five different locations. The collected testimonials and statistics demonstrate the success of the approach, with 80% attendance, a 31% improvement in participants' knowledge, and a score of 9.5 for achieving the goal.