Iris - Democratizing Process Incident Reporting at Vale

Vale, as one of the largest mining companies in the world, understands the importance of maintaining an unwavering commitment to safety. With around 185 thousand people on its staff, the company recognizes that the lives of its employees come first. After the tragic event in Brumadinho, in which a tailings dam collapsed, causing loss of human life and serious damage to the environment, Vale reaffirmed its commitment to safety. The Brumadinho incident was a critical moment that pushed the company to reevaluate its practices and establish a new ambitious goal: eliminate fatalities by 2025.

The quest to improve safety and prevent incidents similar to the Brumadinho tragedy led Vale to recognize the need for an innovative approach. The incident identification and handling process was complex and required improvements to ensure an effective response. It was in this context that the idea for the Iris tool emerged.

The creation of Iris was based on James Reason's "Swiss cheese" theory. In this theory, each "slice" of cheese represents an organizational layer that acts as a barrier to prevent incidents. When multiple barriers fail, accidents occur. Therefore, early identification and effective handling of incidents are crucial. Iris was designed to act as an initial barrier in identifying incidents, collecting essential information, such as the location and severity of the incident, at the time of recording. This provides a rich database for analysis and decision making, reducing the need for intervention from technical areas.

One of Iris's central objectives is to democratize and simplify the incident reporting process. The tool was designed to be accessible to all employees, regardless of their level of familiarity with technical terminology. Iris's simplified language and usability allow any employee to report an incident quickly and effectively. This lowers the barrier to entry for reporting and encourages a participatory security culture.

Process safety is a critical concern in industrial operations, and Iris is designed to include the ability to report events related to process safety. Vale's "P Events" categorization is used to identify and treat incidents related to process safety. This ensures that all safety areas are covered by the tool.

Iris acts as a front-end for SAP Incident Management, enabling effective integration with Vale's incident management system. This ensures that the subsequent steps of investigation, execution of action plans and follow-up are properly managed. The combination of Iris and SAP Incident Management results in a complete and effective solution.

The democratization of incident reporting was accompanied by an extensive change management campaign. Vale took the opportunity to reinforce workplace safety concepts throughout the company. Publicity materials, such as intranet, banners and wall newspapers, were used to disseminate information. In addition, almost 5 thousand employees were trained to help their colleagues adapt to changes.

The name "Iris" was chosen to reflect a specific part of the human anatomy: the iris of the eyes. The iris is responsible for the focus of vision. This metaphor conveys the message that, with a watchful eye and a commitment to safety, employees can help focus on dangerous situations that may have undesirable outcomes. Iris represents a tool that empowers employees to keep a vigilant eye on security.

The objective of this work is to present this tool that brought innovation in the company's search for safety and operational excellence. By simplifying the incident reporting process, democratizing access to the tool and integrating it with SAP Incident Management, Vale is building a stronger security culture. The message from Iris is clear: all employees play a vital role in keeping safety first. With Vale's continued commitment to security, Iris is a tool that reflects the vision of a safer and more promising future.