Earlier this year, I wrote about using the old ANSI/ASSE Z590.2-2003 (R2012) Criteria for Establishing the Scope and Functions of the Professional Safety Position standard when establishing the scope, function, role(s), and responsibilities of the organization’s safety professionals. This older standard does an excellent job of keeping things simple and provides a nice framework from […]
“It is important to establish the difference between leadership, which is acquired, and authority, which is assigned. An optimal situation exists when the two are combined. Leadership involves teamwork, and the quality of a leader depends on the success of the leader’s relationship with the team. Leadership skills should be developed for all through proper
We hear and see this all the time. There are variations to this mantra, but we all know what they mean. So I ask, can a business ever live up to its mantra, “Safety is #1”? Some companies have softened their approach and will say, “The safety of our employees is our #1 priority”. We
As I have stated, our Safety Management System (SMS) revolves around four (4) fundamental elements: 1) Hazard Identification 2) Analysing those identified hazards using recognized methodologies 3) Assessing the risk(s) those hazards pose to people, businesses, and the environment 4) Mitigating those risks down to a tolerable level using the Hierarchy of Controls With that
It is well established that in organizations where a formal and structured SMS approach to managing safety failed, the #1 cause of the failure was the lack of leadership and commitment from the most senior management personnel. Often these individuals lack experience working within a formal SMS structure and have never been taught or even
It has become fashionable to claim that human error is implicated in 80-90 percent of all major accidents. While probably close to the truth, this statement adds very little to our understanding of how and why organizational accidents happen. In the first place, it could hardly be otherwise, given the range of human involvement in
Absolutely they can. In fact, this is the case in most businesses where we get called to assist with an accident investigation. These are not SAFTENG clients, but rather a 1-off project to lead the investigation with a referral from a safety agency or a friend of a friend of a friend kind of arrangement.
For something so many in our profession claim to not exist, it is amazing how five (5) dictionaries officially define it. There are even degrees one can get on the topic, and much research has been done on a topic that is supposedly not at play in an organization’s safety efforts. I think most of
15 human error thoughts we need to consider during our next incident investigation and causal analysis:
Maybe you’ve heard about the Fukushima water release plan. Or maybe you heard something about the drinking water debacle in Flint, MI. Or maybe you’re an emergency responder and are being bombarded about the Alcohol Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) you were exposed that had the “forever chemicals”. Or maybe you have a home with a basement
The assessment checklist below was developed by Dr. James Reason and presented at the 2000 Safety Conference. In Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents, Dr. Reason argues that three (3) elements are vital for driving a company’s safety performance, all of them the purview of top managers: commitment, competence and cognizance The three Cs. But
“Despite efforts to improve safety, several hundred accidents happen every year, and most such crashes are blamed on human error or outdated signaling equipment.” Active Failures vs. Latent Organizational Failures These conflicts are always in the spotlight after tragedies. It took me many years working for some great leaders who always challenged me to look
