Bringing safety to life: Industry-leading safety leadership training brought to construction site for first time in Orkney

2 October 2026

SSE’s award winning safety leadership programme helps reinforce safety culture as construction progresses on SSEN Transmission's Orkney Link project

As part of SSE’s ambition to get its employees and contract partners home safe, around 100 workers involved in delivering SSEN Transmission's Orkney Link Project took part in SSE's immersive safety training programme at Finstown Substation this week, marking the first time it has been delivered on an SSE construction site and the first time it has been hosted in Orkney.

The two-day event was designed to reinforce the importance of safety as construction activity continues to increase across SSEN Transmission's major projects, including the substation at Finstown, helping ensure everyone involved in delivering critical electricity infrastructure remains focused on protecting themselves and those around them.

The delegates including representatives from SSEN Transmission, principal contractors BAM, RJ MacLeod and Siemens, along with members of the wider supply chain supporting the Finstown project, including Edward Mackay Contractor Ltd, BDS and Orkney Builders.

Delivered by Active Training Team (ATT), the mobile programme combines filmed drama, live actors and facilitated discussion to place participants at the heart of a realistic scenario, that includes safety risks prevalent across the construction industry. Participants witness the build-up to a serious incident before examining the decisions, behaviours and workplace pressures that contributed to it.

The training is a mobile version of similar programmes delivered at SSE's Faskally Safety Leadership Training Centre in Perth and ATT centres in London and Immingham, where more than 16,000 SSE colleagues and contract partners have taken part to date.

This includes almost 5,000 staff and contract partners working with SSEN Transmission – SSE’s electricity transmission business.

The Orkney event marked the first time the immersive training experience had been taken directly to teams on a live construction site, bringing the programme closer to those delivering major energy infrastructure projects on the ground.

Alongside the immersive training, participants also took part in a practical safety leadership workshop designed to help them understand how their own attitudes, behaviours and actions can influence safety outcomes, while providing the confidence to challenge unsafe behaviours and intervene when concerns arise.

The initiative forms part of SSEN Transmission's wider commitment to ensuring everyone involved in delivering the critical electricity infrastructure needed for a clean energy future has access to industry-leading tools, training and support to help them work safely every day.

With a planned £29 billion major programme of electricity transmission projects taking place between now and 2030 across the north of Scotland, involving thousands of staff and contractors, it is essential that safety remains a top priority.

As construction ramps up across SSEN Transmission's major transmission projects, SSEN Transmission and its contract partners have introduced standardised requirements for site supervisors through the Pathway to 2030 Safety, Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

The initiative aims to establish consistent, best-in-class standards across all projects, creating a unified safety culture that supports the safe delivery of critical infrastructure.

Central to this approach is a requirement for all site supervisors, regardless of employer, to complete immersive safety training that promotes strong safety leadership and a shared commitment to safe working practices. More than 400 site supervisors working across SSEN Transmission's projects had completed the training by last month.

Euan Sutherland, SSEN Transmission’s Orkney Link Safety Manager, said:

"As we continue to invest in the electricity network needed to deliver a cleaner energy future, nothing is more important than ensuring everyone involved in that work goes home safe at the end of every day.

"Projects such as the ongoing work at Finstown Substation involve significant construction activity and complex working environments, which is why it is so important that we continually reinforce our safety culture and never become complacent.

“Bringing this immersive training directly to site allowed those involved in the project to step away from their day-to-day activities, reflect on the real-life consequences of unsafe behaviours, and think differently about the role each of us plays in keeping one another safe.

"The training was powerful, thought-provoking and highly relevant to the challenges faced on major infrastructure developments such as the Orkney Link Project. It reinforced that safety is not just about procedures and processes; it is about behaviours, conversations and having the confidence to intervene when something doesn't look right."

Gerard Egan, Project Manager at BAM, said:

"This training was a powerful reminder that safety is about people as much as processes. By bringing the programme directly to Finstown, everyone involved in the project had the opportunity to reflect on the role they play in creating a safe working environment and the importance of speaking up when something doesn't look right. Working closely with SSEN Transmission and our supply chain partners, we're committed to fostering a culture where safety remains at the heart of everything we do."

The training formed part of SSEN Transmission's wider commitment to maintaining the highest standards of safety across its major investment programme in clean energy infrastructure, ensuring employees and contractors alike have access to industry-leading tools, training and support.