This came from the International Civil Aviation Organization and was modified by yours truly for manufacturing facilities to adopt. It may be the best wording I have seen for what Safety is supposed to be at the C-Suite level within organizations.
Safety is…
“the state in which the possibility of harm to persons or of property damage is reduced to, and maintained at or below, an acceptable level through a continuing process of hazard identification and safety/risk management.”
While the elimination of accidents and/or serious incidents remains the ultimate goal, it is recognized that any business cannot be completely free of hazards and associated risks. Human activities or human-built systems cannot be guaranteed to be absolutely free from operational errors and their consequences. Therefore…
safety is a dynamic characteristic whereby risks must be continuously mitigated. It is important to note that the acceptability of safety performance is often influenced by domestic and international norms and culture. As long as risks are kept under an appropriate level of control, a business can still be managed to maintain the appropriate balance between production and protection.
