KAEFER embeds leading-indicator mindset across global operations

With over 100 years of experience, KAEFER is one of the world’s most established providers of technical industrial services. Operating in more than 25 countries with over 35,000 employees, the company supports customers in safeguarding asset performance, often under demanding operational and environmental conditions. Known for its strong safety record, KAEFER is committed to continuous learning and improvement to strengthen its HSEQ culture.

Challenges

Operating as a decentralized global organization, KAEFER encountered multiple challenges in building a unified, proactive safety culture centered on leading indicators. These barriers limited opportunities for improvement and hindered consistent performance. Key challenges included:

• Diverse operational standards: Regional business units applied different industry and service standards
• Decentralized structure: Multicultural contexts and independent operations resulted in varying safety maturity levels.
• Fragmented reporting: Inconsistent reporting and investigation practices made data collection and analysis difficult.
• Emphasis on lagging indicators: Reliance on lagging metrics without a standardized approach to leading indicators contributed to plateauing performance.

These factors made it challenging to engage teams globally and promote proactive safety behaviours. To address this, KAEFER sought a solution capable of unifying and strengthening its safety culture across regions.

Solution

KAEFER sought a simple, intuitive tool to increase employee engagement and reinforce its core HSEQ principles. The priority was to empower all employees to stop unsafe work, intervene positively, address incorrect behavior and suggest improvements when reporting issues.

KAEFER finally selected SpheraCloud Health and Safety Management software, including the First Report Portal—selected for its user-friendly interface. The platform enables employees at all levels to easily record incidents, near-misses, and observations, supporting real-time engagement across a diverse, global workforce. The user-friendly design removed barriers to reporting, while multilingual support facilitated widespread adoption in multicultural environments. Combined with Actions Management and Audits, the solution provided KAEFER with a comprehensive approach to managing safety.

One of the key success factors in the implementation was the expertise of Sphera’s services team, which ensured a smooth rollout for KAEFER and enabled the organization to foster consistent, proactive safety participation—strengthening its safety culture on a global scale.

Results

The introduction of SpheraCloud delivered clear improvements, reshaping KAEFER’s approach to safety management.

Data consistency and transparency increased across all indicators. Reporting of near-misses and observations rose substantially, from 33,000 events in 2023 to 130,000 in 2025, representing an increase of 294%.

This reflects not only higher numbers but also improved data quality: each report now includes consistent information such as potential risk, relevant hazard and reporting function, providing valuable insights for data-based decision-making.

The introduction of a standardized investigation process, supported by SpheraCloud, enabled KAEFER to establish clear investigation-related indicators. As a result, 58% of formal investigations were triggered by near misses and observations, driving targeted follow-up actions and strengthening organizational learning.

This expanded dataset enabled KAEFER to establish a stronger focus on leading indicators. Standardized dashboards were introduced across the organization, improving how management evaluates performance and enabling more data-driven decision-making in steering committees. By March 2025, near-miss reports exceeded first aid cases, highlighting a shift toward preventing incidents before they occur.

Why this matters

The partnership between KAEFER and Sphera shows how a deliberate strategy combined with purpose-built technology can create a unified, proactive safety culture in a complex global organization. Strengthening safety culture is critical because it reduces risk, protects employees, and ensures consistent safety practices across diverse operations. By implementing SpheraCloud Health and Safety Management software, KAEFER has increased employee engagement, embedded a leading-indicator mindset into daily operations, and enabled more informed, data-driven decisions. The measurable rise in safety observations demonstrates not only improved reporting but also a tangible shift toward preventing incidents before they occur, reinforcing the company’s commitment to operational excellence and workforce safety.