Safety at Fluor Hanford (B) Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

This is a Thunderbird Case Study. Fluor Corporation has constantly prided itself on its competence in security. It was a core value of the business, and Fluor had attained outstanding safety records on complex projects all around the world. But now, in the spring of 1997, Fluor found itself managing the Western Hemisphere's biggest environmental clean-up site, the Hanford condition in Washington State. The Hanford site was recognized as part of the Manhattan Project in the 1940s that gave birth to the atomic bomb. The Hanford site was half the size of Rhode Island, inhabiting 586 square miles in southeastern Washington State. The clean-up was expected to begin in 1988. Improving security at Hanford was proved to be a major challenge. As the new site supervisor at Hanford, Fluor Hanford (FH) inherited lesser- and mid-level supervisors and thousands of unionized workers, many of whom were second- or third-generation Hanford workers.

These workers had seen many contractors come and go over the previous years. Some of the managers who'd worked with the preceding contractor saw the emphasis on safety of Fluor as getting in the way of operations. Union/management relations were fractious. Hanford's culture was described as "creation driven-management told everyone what to do, and, if you did not do it, there were impacts." Worker engagement in designing and implementing security programs was insignificant. FH also was having trouble meeting its customer, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Safety at Fluor Hanford (B) case study solution

PUBLICATION DATE: September 11, 2009 PRODUCT #: TB0023-PDF-ENG

This is just an excerpt. This case is about LEADERSHIP & MANAGING PEOPLE