Empowering Safety through Collaboration: Walimah’s Initiative at a Campus Facility

People shape workplace safety through what they do every day. They notice risks, raise ideas and work with others to put them into practice.

Wahyu Siti Walimah, OCS Indonesia’s Internal Relations Officer at one of our education customer sites, did just that. As students, staff and visitors move through the campus, she realised that they needed easier access to emergency information.

She proposed installing evacuation route and emergency access maps across the campus facility. She then brought colleagues together to turn the idea into a practical safety measure.

Caring to drive change

Walimah’s focus on safety began with a simple observation. Emergencies can happen at any time, whether because of natural events or unexpected incidents at work. The need felt especially urgent when she started working at a newly operational campus building that welcomed large numbers of occupants and visitors each day.

While observing the site, she saw that clearer guidance on evacuation routes and emergency access was needed. Making this information readily available, she believed, would help occupants quickly understand where to go in an emergency.

Walimah knew she needed specialist knowledge to put the idea into practice. She shared her proposal with the Building Manager and involved the rope access team, whose members had the right skills and safety certification.

Together, they surveyed the site, reviewed the building plans provided by our customer and identified suitable evacuation routes. They also chose where to place the maps across the five-storey building.

Our customer supported the initiative by funding and arranging the printing of the evacuation maps. Once the designs were ready, Walimah worked with the engineering team to install them on every floor.

Turning an idea into everyday safety practice

The team installed seven evacuation and emergency access maps in key locations across the site. Occupants can now check the maps to identify the right route in an emergency.

The work didn’t stop with the maps. The team added emergency route information the site’s safety induction video so that new and existing occupants could learn the routes during their introduction to the workplace.

OCS Indonesia also works with the customer to support the site’s emergency response programme. The team trains occupants to use fire extinguishers, follow evacuation procedures and respond appropriately in an emergency.

For Walimah, the work comes down to one point. People need to understand their responsibilities and know what to do when an emergency occurs.

Empowerment starts with the courage to speak up

Walimah says she used to feel shy and sometimes held back from sharing her views. When she noticed a gap in her workplace safety, however, she spoke up and invited her colleagues to develop a solution.

Support from different teams gave her the confidence to take a more active role. She realised that empowerment does not mean having every answer or solving every problem alone. It can start with raising an idea, asking for help and trusting others to contribute.

Walimah received recognition in the Empowerment category of the OCS Indonesia TRUE Star Programme. Her story shows how empowerment can turn individual initiative into collective action. Walimah overcame initial hesitation to share her ideas, gaining confidence through team support and demonstrating how individual initiative can lead to collective safety improvements.