From Brain Science to Global Safety: How Shell Turns Data Into Lives Saved

Matt Furstoss is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and Certified Risk Management Professional serving as Global Road Safety Advisor at Shell. With a background in brain and cognitive sciences combined with frontline field experience on drilling rigs, Matt brings both analytical rigor and human connection to managing transportation risk across Shell's global operations. He develops safety frameworks, analyzes incident data from thousands of operations worldwide, and influences safety culture across diverse business units spanning from the Canadian tundra to the deserts of Oman.

Timestamps:

• [1:21] How a brain science degree led to safety leadership in the energy sector
• [4:39] Creating video hazard mapping that won best presentation at Shell's Global Conference
• [6:03] What it means to be a global road safety advisor at a major energy company
• [8:35] Why contract structure affects driver behavior and safety outcomes
• [12:14] The compliance trap: moving from checklist mentality to risk-based thinking
• [14:34] Breaking down 1,000 incidents using driver, vehicle, and journey factors
• [20:08] Turning complex data analysis into three bullets that executives will act on
• [21:03] Building trust, maintaining networks, and establishing SME credibility
• [22:22] Using authentic connection and local imagery to make safety personal
• [25:22] Why staying at the edge of discomfort accelerates professional growth

In this episode…

Most safety professionals never analyze a thousand incidents by hand. Most never extract patterns from free-text fields written in dozens of countries. Most never develop frameworks that work equally well in North American drilling operations and international freight transport across drastically different regulatory environments.

Matt Furstoss does all three. He manually analyzed 1,000 collision incidents to extract data buried in free-text fields. He developed systematic categorization that works across drastically different geographies, regulations, and infrastructure quality. And he built risk-based frameworks that Shell now deploys globally.

As Global Road Safety Advisor at Shell, Matt architected a systematic approach to turning unstructured incident narratives into actionable intelligence. His method: Break every collision into three components—what the vehicle did, what it interacted with, and what factors contributed. Categorize into driver, vehicle, and journey elements. Apply this formula to every incident. Extract patterns. Identify weak controls.

But the real insight is about influence. In an organization where safety leaders have zero direct authority over business units, where operations run 24/7 across cultures that approach risk differently—how do you drive change? That's the story Matt reveals in this Road Rageous episode.

The Journey: From Cognitive Science to Global Safety Leadership

Matt graduated in 2009 expecting to pursue academic research in how humans think. Instead, the domestic shale boom created opportunity. He started on drilling rigs in Northern Pennsylvania, managing hundreds of trucks daily navigating farm roads for hydraulic fracturing operations.

The routing challenge led to innovation: video hazard mapping. He submitted it to Shell's Global Wells Conference, presented in the Netherlands, and won best presentation. That earned him an official Shell job in 2017.

Today, Matt's team functions as internal consultants across upstream, downstream, lubricants, and multiple service lines. He has no direct budget authority. He can't compel compliance. Yet his frameworks guide decisions affecting thousands of drivers and hundreds of millions in operations.

Infrastructure, Contracts, and Hidden Drivers of Risk

Infrastructure varies dramatically across regions. In developed markets, excellent highways and strong regulation exist. In emerging markets, vehicle conditions, infrastructure quality, and regulatory approaches differ significantly.

But infrastructure is only part of the equation. Contract structure fundamentally shapes driver behavior.

"If you have a contract paid by the load, there's incentive for drivers to drive fast or not sleep. In the US, hours of service regulation covers this. Elsewhere? Not necessarily."

This is systems thinking. Safety isn't about training or technology alone—it's understanding how economic incentives, regulatory environments, and infrastructure interact to create or prevent risk.

Turning Chaos Into Intelligence: The 1,000-Incident Analysis

Matt's breakthrough involved manually analyzing 1,000 collision incidents over two years. The problem: "Most important data on how crashes happened is stuck in free-text fields. Without extracting it, you can't trend incidents or measure risk factors."

His team developed a systematic formula. To have a crash, you need the company vehicle (strike/struck by/rollover/lost load), it must interact with something else, and contributing factors fall into three buckets:

• Driver factors: Distraction, fatigue, training competency
• Vehicle factors: Blind spots, cameras, alarms, failures
• Journey factors: Third parties, weather, road conditions

"We read every free-text field and categorized everything. Then we analyzed which risk factors were most prevalent, which scenarios were most prevalent. That allowed us to say: when crashes happen this way, this is our weakest spot."

Result: precise resource allocation. "Data-driven, efficient spending in safety versus just 'we think it's this, so let's throw money at that.'"

The Three-Bullet Rule: Making Data Actionable

"You've got to take all that data and chunk it down to just the three bullets that the VP needs to hear."

Three bullets. Not thirty. Not thirteen. This separates analysts from advisors. Analysis without influence is academic. Influence without analysis is speculation. Effective safety leadership requires both.

Influence Without Authority: Building Trust and Credibility

Matt's approach centers on three elements: Trust—keeping up a strong network within the businesses you're influencing. SME credibility—being on your A-game with what you know. Personability—being approachable, not scolding.

But deeper: making safety personal. "Using names and photos of people within businesses in your material—having actual images of people who work at their facility in presentations—it really drives it home that this is us."

An old leader shared a metaphor that stuck: "The business is the elephant and you're standing in its path. If you just push, you get trampled. But if you're on the other side poking and nudging, you go the direction you want."

Don't stand in front of the elephant. Walk beside it.

Professional Growth Through Discomfort

Matt's first day: two days after Christmas, major snowstorm, Appalachian Forest, learning drilling operations from scratch.

"I grew so much, so fast because of that. Way outside my comfort zone. But staying out of your comfort zone is how you grow."

His most effective strategy: "Sitting in the doghouse with the driller, asking 'What is this? How does this work?' And getting to know their families too, not just work."

Result: Trust. Learning. Genuine coaching relationships.

"People at the center of everything and then pushing your discomfort."

Quotable Moments:

• "How people behave is a key piece to safety."
• "If you have a contract paid by the load, there's incentive for drivers to drive fast or not sleep."
• "We're trying to move away from compliance. We want to manage risk from a risk-based approach rather than check-the-box compliance."
• "Most important data is stuck in the free-text field."
• "Data-driven, efficient spending in safety versus just 'we think it's this, so let's throw money at that.'"
• "You've got to chunk it down to just the three bullets that the VP needs to hear."
• "The business is the elephant and you're standing in its path. If you push, you get trampled."
• "Always stay on the edge of discomfort. That's how you grow."
• "You can't lose sight of people in safety work."
• "People at the center of everything and then pushing your discomfort."

Action Steps:

• Standardize incident reporting systems. Centralized platforms with consistent fields enable meaningful data analysis.
• Break incidents into formulas. Systematically categorize: what happened, what was involved, contributing factors (driver/vehicle/journey).
• Manually analyze a sample set. Review 100-200 incidents by hand before automating—this teaches you what matters.
• Create three-bullet summaries. Distill complex analysis into three actionable bullets executives can understand and act on.
• Use local imagery in presentations. Include photos and names of actual people—makes recommendations personal and memorable.
• Build cross-functional networks. Cultivate relationships with operations leaders before you need to influence them.
• Move from compliance to risk-based thinking. Help teams understand "why" behind procedures, not just enforce checklists.
• Examine contract structures. Review how payment terms might inadvertently incentivize unsafe behaviors.
• Get hands dirty in operations. Spend time in the field—you can't advise on what you don't understand.
• Stay at the edge of discomfort. Actively seek roles and projects that push your capabilities.

Key Takeaways

• ✓ Contract structures, infrastructure, and regulation interact to shape driver behavior more than training alone
• ✓ Moving from compliance-based to risk-based thinking enables adaptation and continuous improvement
• ✓ Standardized incident systems across business units make meaningful data analysis possible
• ✓ Systematic incident categorization reveals weak controls and guides resource allocation
• ✓ Complex analysis must distill into three-bullet summaries that enable executive action
• ✓ Safety leaders without direct authority influence through trust, expertise, and authentic relationships
• ✓ Making safety personal with local imagery and names drives engagement more than abstract statistics
• ✓ Professional growth accelerates when operating at the edge of discomfort with new challenges
• ✓ Field experience cannot be replaced by AI or digital resources
• ✓ People must remain at the center of safety work—technical excellence without human connection fails

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Matt Furstoss on LinkedIn
• Shell Global
• SPIDER® Driver Training
• IMPROV Learning

About Matt Furstoss

Matt Furstoss, CSP, CRMP is Global Road Safety Advisor at Shell, leading safety framework development and incident analysis across worldwide transportation operations. With a background in brain and cognitive sciences plus frontline field experience on drilling rigs, Matt brings analytical depth and practical operations knowledge to his role. He began his career in 2009 in Northern Pennsylvania, developed innovative video hazard mapping processes, and transitioned to global road safety in 2017. His expertise includes systematic incident data analysis, safety culture development across international operations, and risk-based framework implementation. Matt holds CSP and CRMP certifications and earned his degree from the University of Rochester.

Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by IMPROVLearning. Data reveals where safety problems exist—but only trained drivers can prevent them. SPIDER™ Driver Training develops the cognitive skills that prevent incidents: hazard recognition, space management, and split-second decision-making. Technology shows you what happened. Training determines what happens next. Learn more at improvlearning.com.