{"id":12,"date":"2013-09-05T08:42:21","date_gmt":"2013-09-05T08:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/usl01664.united.safety.ltd:81\/uslstaging\/uslblog\/?p=12"},"modified":"2026-07-02T08:08:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T08:08:23","slug":"does-excellence-in-safety-have-multicultural-barriers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unitedsafety.net\/uslblog\/2013\/09\/does-excellence-in-safety-have-multicultural-barriers\/","title":{"rendered":"Does excellence in safety have multicultural barriers?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An expanding global workforce can be a daunting task especially during project transition periods. As a leader in providing safety solutions to the oil and gas industry, United Safety has executed projects across the globe. Moreover, we have managed numerous challenges arising out of multicultural differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

From language barriers to cultural differences, interdependencies and unforeseen changes to size and mode of operation, we draw from our experiences. Therefore, we answer the question – can multicultural differences hinder excellence in safety?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let`s take a look at our experience in Angola. In 1975, Angola gained its independence after 500 years of Portuguese influence. In 2010, Angola had a count of 12.8 million people. The country had a young workforce of 7.7 million and a below average literacy rate at 67.4%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But let\u2019s face it, most oil and gas companies operate in similar or even worse environments. So what do we do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have found that those involved in the transition into a new territory including managers on the ground, the HR department at Head Office, training department, finance and operations teams have a crucial role to play. The key here is cultural competence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To deal with multicultural differences, here are some tested and proven steps to consider:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n