How Shell’s safety culture shaped a 30 year career

Darren Evans —Logistics Contract Lead with Viva Energy — celebrates 32 years with a business that has been operating in Australia for more than 120 years - firstly as Shell and now as Viva Energy. From hands-on driving and maintenance to transport analysis, planning and contracts, Darren has seen the transport business from all sides.

From the first oil refinery to fuelling the first commercial QANTAS flight — the Shell brand has a proud history of innovation and support for Australian industry. It is that reputation for quality and high standards that drew Darren originally to the company.

“It was considered the place you wanted to work, the top of the tree for a driving job. I was getting promoted in another job, and I gave Shell one last phone call before I committed somewhere else,” says Darren.

“I was straight off five years of driving stock crates, and a bit of a country bumpkin in Sydney.”

Since getting his start as driver, Darren has worked to the same high standards across transport analysis, planning, operations and contract management.

High standards on the job lived up to Darren’s expectations of safety and process.

“I'd come from an operation where I did all my own maintenance, so from a driver's perspective, it was brilliant,” he says.

“The role with Shell was in a highly regulated, well equipped environment with safety standards. It was like a breath of fresh air.”

Darren was impressed by the Shell approach, and keen to learn more in the fuel space. When Shell shifted away from owning its own fleet, Darren moved from driver to supervisor. Then he settled into operations out of Townsville.

“Townsville was great for learning all the different aspects of the industry,” he says.

“I worked in tank farm operations, ship to shore, you name it.”

A lot has changed in 120 years — and even in 30 years.

Get there faster
It takes a few hours to deliver fuel from Sydney to Canberra — in the 1940s it took 2 days.

More on board
Fuel deliveries used to be a few thousand litres, now one truck delivers 70,000L.

Faster refuelling
Drivers can access bigger, high flow pumps to refuel faster.

Service station facilities
More services, parking, meals, showers and facilities to cater for a safer driver experience.

Ways to pay
Darren started out paying his fuel bill via cheque at the end of month, to digital payments now available on Shell Card.

The safety culture at Shell which has now transferred across to Viva Energy where Darren works, and the community that grows around it, is a big part of what has kept Darren still learning across new roles.

“Safety is hammered into you from the start, it becomes part of your thinking in everything you do. Community builds around us looking out for each other, doing our jobs to a high standard, so that everyone stays on course and goes home safely,” he says.

“The company ethics and ethos align with mine. The commitment to safety, commitment to people and the desire to do the right thing are all part of it.”

Darren says people with an aptitude for workplace health and safety policies and processes are well suited to the safety culture of companies like Shell and Viva Energy.

“We don’t do shortcuts. It’s not worth the risk to break the rules in this business. The safety of everyone involved is first and foremost for us, so we put the right procedures in place and make sure we follow them.”

Even through the immense technological changes of the past 120 years, some things don’t change – we still aim to proudly lead industry safety standards.

Darren says working to these high standards can be a challenging change for new suppliers.

“The standards we set and the expectations we have can be a significant culture shock. Ultimately, many improve their businesses by meeting the standards we insist on,” he says.

“We still lead the pack with standards. We’re part of a forum working to standardise carrier processes across industry.”

With experience across business areas and his driving experience, Darren plays an advocacy role for drivers. Experience in the driver’s seat helps inform decisions that prioritise health and safety.

“It can be difficult to teach people, if you haven't done it. It’s a tough, specialised gig. You need an appreciation for what you’re asking from a driver to do if the job involves 1000km running on dirt,” he says.

“We can’t automate the entire industry, it's not like backing onto a dock and machine loading. Between process and policy, we need to take care of the people making this all work.”

One of the initiatives is no-fault incident investigation which helps to focus on the bigger picture of where an incident or error fits into the supply chain.

“It can be quick in the industry to point the finger at the individual at the end, the driver. But what else is going on? It's taking that blame game away to understand the cause of the issue.”

With such a long history, staff like Darren have spent their careers with the industry and seen how important relationships are with suppliers and within the workplace.

“It’s a challenge to bring the right people in, train them up to the right standards, and keep them in the industry. When you get the right people together, operating with the same ethics, it’s a great group of people to work with.”

“People trust Shell brand – from the strong network of servos across the country to the quality fuels and lubricants. Because they’ve been around a long time, they have earnt a good reputation. It’s that simple. People value the longevity of a brand and the quality of the products they sell.”

Trust the history with Shell Card.