Creating a consistent approach to safety across 15 manufacturing sites, ten countries and nine languages requires clear expectations and room for local learning. McBride’s entry for The SHE Show Inspiring Change Awards describes how its Zero Loss Journey is bringing those elements together, with greater responsibility for safety in operational leadership and everyday work.

An initial gap analysis identified uneven performance, inconsistent standards and an approach that could place too much responsibility on health and safety specialists. Investigations sometimes focused on blame, while broad risk assessments did not always reflect the detail of individual tasks. McBride developed a five-year programme to strengthen governance, establish common standards and make risk management more practical.

The business identified 30 standards for the programme. Twelve were delivered in FY25 and a further seven in FY26, with the remainder planned for the following two financial years. This phased approach allowed the organisation to establish a common direction while recognising that implementation across different sites takes time. EcoOnline supported the wider management and reporting arrangements.

Incident reviews were designed to bring operational leaders into the learning process. Lost-time injuries, restricted-duty cases, medical-treatment cases and high-potential incidents receive root-cause review involving Group health and safety leadership, divisional operations and site management. The focus is on understanding the conditions and systems surrounding an event and identifying changes that can reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

At task level, Quick Risk Prediction supports production teams, while Dynamic Risk Assessments are used in maintenance. Alongside the STOP, THINK, ACT approach, these tools encourage people to consider the work in front of them before proceeding. Leadership safety walks and near-miss reporting provide further opportunities to discuss conditions and bring concerns to attention.

Independent input helped McBride examine the cultural side of the programme. A DEKRA safety culture survey informed leadership workshops, followed by Leading with Safety sessions delivered between June 2025 and May 2026 across 12 European and two Asia-Pacific sites. Participants developed three personal Safe at Work Promises, giving the discussions a connection to their own leadership behaviour.

The workshops were piloted and refined, with a train-the-trainer approach supporting further delivery. Monthly reporting and governance helped maintain attention after the sessions. This combination recognises that training needs reinforcement through the expectations leaders set, the questions they ask and the way they respond when employees identify a problem.

McBride reports a third successive annual reduction in lost-time injuries in FY26. In its Liquids division, cases fell from 17 to ten; in Unit Dosing, they fell from six to four. Seven of its 15 sites recorded no lost-time injuries during that financial year. These results provide an indication of progress within the period covered by the submission.

Participation figures show the scale of activity supporting the programme. During FY26, McBride recorded 92,593 Quick Risk Predictions, 13,785 Dynamic Risk Assessments and 13,571 leadership safety walks. These volumes show how widely the routines are being used, although the quality of the discussions and the actions that follow remain important alongside the counts.

The submission acknowledges that training can move faster than lasting changes in habits. Site maturity varies, leadership changes can affect continuity, and operational pressures continue to test the approach. McBride identifies stronger routines and peer challenge as areas for further development. Its experience demonstrates the sustained work involved in connecting common standards with local ownership, so that safety becomes part of how operations are managed each day.

Robert McBride Ltd entered The SHE Show Inspiring Change Awards 2026. This article draws on its application; performance and participation figures are reported by the organisation.