Get to Understand Me

My brother recently started working on the rigs. He is a certified stainless steel welder and qualified as a tradesman. Before one can work on or get oil-rig-employment on offshore installations one has to have a current offshore Medical Certificate (the requirements vary between countries here). One also needs a current Offshore Survival Certificate and, in most cases, a Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET) Certificate without which you don’t get to fly offshore and start your job. This rule is unbreakable.

Reinhard also had to undertake rope access training. Rope Access is a method of safely working at height or in difficult or awkward places. Using techniques developed for climbing and caving, rope access allows workers to reach locations which might previously have been inaccessible or have required large amounts of scaffolding. Since the late 1980s, these techniques have been used in locations as diverse as Oil Rigs, Skyscrapers, Stadia and Cliff Faces, allowing inspection, cleaning and construction to be carried out cheaply and safely.

Of course, all his loved ones (author included), have thus far battled with the long periods of absence, naturally and consistently anxious for his safe return. Having said this, though, the rig industry’s attention to safety is nothing less than prudent, so, in many respects, our fears remain ‘False Evidence Appearing Real’.

His home-coming following his very first stint was uplifting. Sure, he was EXHAUSTED…but stronger, more confident, content and filled with renewed ‘levenslust’. A born storyteller, he regaled us with tales from his ‘rig-maroles’ and there’s no denying how much we look forward to the next installment!

This brings me to the topic of this blog post… I was particularly fascinated to learn that everyone working on the rigs has two colours displayed on their safety helmets with the words: “Get to understand me”, or something along those lines. Apparently, everyone undergoes a personality assessment which categorizes their personality profile, visually, by way of a colour pair (blue, green, red, or yellow). One also gets a brief description of what each colour represents in terms of personality type so that you can ‘read’ not only yours but others’ combinations too.

This means that, before you even open your mouth to the person in front of you, you get a ‘sneak preview’ of what kind of person you’re dealing with. This helps you gain immediate insight into ‘where they are coming from’ and vice versa. In this way, you are able to adjust the ‘way’ in which you communicate with them to get optimal results, whatever the situation.

How clever! Bearing in mind that not-too-long-ago I posted a blog on the blight of bad bosses in the workplace, emphasizing the need to understand people better and handle each person differently, for the individuals they are, to bring out the best in them!

I had to find out more…so, of course, I Googled it! Finally, I came across a site that describes it beautifully and even has a link on it to take the PDI (Personality Diversity Index) test yourself. I don’t think it is only warranted on the rigs. I wish more workplaces put something like this into action. The Human Factor, in my opinion, is largely under-catered for. I echo Dale Carnegie’s philosophy of workplace success: “Your most important investment is your PEOPLE and the key ingredient to success is a POSITIVE working environment.”

What a great tool… a visual, upfront indicator to the personality you’re dealing with, and the opportunity to understand them better and communicate more effectively with them!

Heavens, it even has a place in the family environment…

So, if I have piqued your interest, and you want to know what your colour profile is, go visit this link: http://www.equilibria.vg/customers_coach.html and click on the tab in the left-hand margin that reads: ‘Take the PDI’.

They say that I am a ‘Thinking Socializer’… that’s yellow-green, by the way. Go ahead. Get to understand me.