BP Andrew had to develop a completely new way of working in order to exploit smaller oil reserves in the North Sea. ...the task was to transform a roofless, breeze-block shell into a habitable five-classroom building. "the Santo-Su project directly contributed to the Andrew Platform being launched £80 million below budget and six months early."

BP Andrew had to develop a completely new way of working in order to exploit smaller oil reserves in the North Sea. This led to the strategic decision to develop the Andrew Platform in partnership with suppliers and contractors as a profit share. The project held important implications for its workforce and would bring major organisational and cultural challenges. Managers realised that outstanding teamwork and communication would be key to success and identified the need for a training programme to develop skills in these critical areas. Unique Solutions, in partnership with Lloyd Masters Consulting, took 60 members of the BP Andrew team to Brikama, a village in the Gambia, to build the Santo-Su Nursery School. Their task was to transform a roofless, breeze-block shell that had stood empty for three years, into a habitable five-classroom building. It must have sanitary facilities, a water supply, playground and classroom furniture. The team had two weeks to complete the project. Event Manager Alun Barrett explains why Unique Solutions chose and developed such a challenging programme that took participants thousands of miles from home to such a very different culture and environment: We chose a real project where the actions of the team had real consequences both for the team and the locals of Brikama to ensure that we had total emotional buy-in from the team. This mirrored the emotion they feel at work and helped them identify and address the behavioural, communication and relationship issues they experience in their real, day-to-day jobs. This is a really powerful and engaging way to tackle behaviour change and gain total commitment at team level. Although the Gambian project was far removed from an average working day on Andrew Platform, there were many parallels in the issues the team had to address. In Brikama the team members were working in a different country with nationals from a different culture. Back on Andrew Platform, in the new partnership environment, they would be required to work alongside individuals and teams from other organisations with different cultures and behaviours. In order to complete the task in Santa-Su successfully the team had to address problems objectively, both individually and as a group. This encouraged them to draw comparisons with and consider the way they approach difficult situations in the workplace. On Andrew Platform handovers between shifts are hardly ever face-to-face and can lead to communication breakdown. "Having thirty of the team working the first week on the nursery and preparing for the next group of thirty without a face-to-face meeting emulated the handovers on the platform," says Alun Barrett.

The adopted action was to work towards an effective handover at the start of the shift rather than thinking about what the next shift need to know at the last minute. The project was a resounding, all-round success the school was completed on time with an opening ceremony attended by approximately 500 people, including the Gambian ministers for Education and Tourism. The team left with a core set of behaviours and a robust communication process, critical to working successfully in teams. Asked to assess the benefit of his Gambian experiences, one participant commented: The local culture is founded on teamwork and taught us one important lesson: The best team relationships are built on a foundation of trust and understanding with everyone helping each other achieve a common goal. BP state that the behaviour and culture shift created by the Santo-Su project directly contributed to the Andrew Platform being launched £80 million below budget and six months early.

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