Admiral Rickover is the Father of Nuclear Safety in the U.S. Navy. He holds the Navy’s record for years of service, having served 60 years (1922 – 1982). He passed away 4 years later at the age of 86.
Admiral Rickover coveted the following “7 Rules” in developing, implementing, and managing his nuclear safety program for the Navy. A lot of businesses could adopt this simple but hardcore approach to managing an SMS:
Rule 1. You must have a rising quality standard over time and well beyond what is required by any minimum standard.
Rule 2. People running complex systems should be highly capable.
Rule 3. Supervisors have to face bad news and take problems to a level high enough to fix them.
Rule 4. You must have a healthy respect for the dangers and risks of your particular job.
Rule 5. Training must be constant and rigorous.
Rule 6. Audits and inspections of all aspects of your operations are essential.
Rule 7. The organization and members thereof must have the ability and willingness to learn from past mistakes.
