How Wilson James Built a data-led strategy around safety culture measurement and improvement.
Wilson James
The Challenge: Moving beyond traditional safety indicators to drive innovation and continuous improvement
“For us it was about going beyond the compliance piece to really start to understand the maturity of our safety culture and where we could definitely raise the bar. It was about turning data into direction and making our safety ambition measurable.”
Liam Simpson, Director of Health, Safety and Wellbeing, Wilson James
Wilson James is growing at a considerable rate and prides itself on its safety performance and culture. With a diverse operation and workforce, it focuses on technology and innovation to continually improve.
The business already maintained good safety standards, with traditional lead and lag data in place to validate safety performance. But it lacked the data and insights to understand how the maturity of its safety culture varied between divisions and sites. It wanted to formally measure its safety culture and ambition in detail, and its existing data limited its ability to do so.
The gap:
Without measurable data on safety culture performance, Wilson James couldn’t identify specific improvement opportunities or measure progress toward its safety goals and ambitions.
The opportunity:
Gather new lead data to support an ongoing drive toward proactive, data-driven leadership, creating consistency across all divisions while providing the detail needed to make informed decisions.
The Solution: An evidence-based approach engaging all levels of the organisation
“Safe365 for me really stood out because it offered us that evidence-based approach. It provides clear benchmarking and we’ve seen that through our first insights report. It also provides a platform that translates that insight into action.”
Liam Simpson, Director of Health, Safety and Wellbeing, Wilson James
Phase 1:
Planning & Alignment
Connecting safety culture measurement to safety objectives
- Leadership engagement sessions
- Alignment with strategic safety goals
Phase 2:
Comprehensive Measurement
Multi-division safety culture assessment
- Onboarding with colleagues from the executive to the frontline
- Workforce feedback collection across all sites
- Co-delivery of workshops (a mix of Safe365 and Wilson James led)
- Building sustainability and ownership of measurement into the organisation
Phase 3:
Insights & Ownership
Translating data into strategic direction
- Identified safety ambitions and the gaps to meeting them
- Deep dive and analysis of the data captured
- Strategic insights identifying collective strengths and areas for improvement
- Department-specific insights identifying strengths and improvements unique to each area
- Industry benchmarking analysis
Phase 4:
Action & Ownership
Empowering divisions with data-driven improvement plans
- Strategic and division-specific improvement plans finalised
- Embedded governance and accountability to ensure actions are completed
- Established a framework to measure improvements year on year
The Results: Data-driven safety leadership in action
Division-specific ownership and accountability
Each division now drives its own improvement initiatives based on its specific data, creating authentic ownership rather than top-down mandates.
“It’s enabled divisions to take ownership of their own data and we’ve been able then to build targeted safety improvement plans based on metrics, and it’s not just coming from what our safety team really want.”
Transformed safety conversations
Safety discussions across the organisation are now grounded in evidence, using lead data captured through Safe365. This has elevated the quality and effectiveness of safety leadership at every level.
“I think the other important factor is that we saw a step change in how safety conversations are really led, with data being a clear focus.”
Enhanced cross-team collaboration
The platform facilitated unexpected levels of collaboration between teams, creating a unified approach to safety improvement across all sites.
“The standout for me is really the quality of engagement and the clarity of the output. It’s enabled us to create a level of cross-team collaboration but also ownership that we didn’t really anticipate, and especially in such a short space of time.”
Watch Liam Simpson share the journey below.
The Strategic Impact: Beyond expected outcomes
A common language for multi-directional communication
Wilson James achieved something many multi-division organisations struggle with: establishing a framework to measure safety maturity across all levels of the business.
“One of the key aspects for me was around that common language and how we then communicate not just upwards, but also downwards and externally to our customer base.”
Evidence-based leadership positioning
The data-driven approach enables Wilson James to demonstrate safety leadership credibility both internally and in the marketplace, where it shares its data with clients. This supports its commitment to grounded, evidence-based safety excellence, aligned to its wider business strategy.
What this means for your organisation
If you’re managing multi-site operations
Wilson James proves you can achieve consistency and ownership across diverse divisions while maintaining site-specific relevance. The key is giving each location its own data story.
If you’re moving beyond compliance
The transition from compliance-focused to data-driven safety leadership creates measurable competitive advantages and demonstrates genuine commitment to safety excellence.
Ready to transform your safety data into strategic direction?
Wilson James’ journey demonstrates how the right platform can exceed expectations, creating not just measurement capabilities but genuine cultural transformation that drives business value.
The question isn’t whether you need better safety data. It’s whether you’re ready to turn that data into competitive advantage.
Ready to take your organisation on the journey to proactive safety? Book a discovery call.
