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More on Safety & OSHA Compliance
Safety is a word that can evoke a variety of thoughts and emotions. To company leaders, the word could mean “something that is not worth my time” to “an important investment in my company’s future.” It is this second group of like-minded business owners and CEOs that truly get the meaning of safety and take it to the highest level at their companies.
If you’re wondering how safety could possibly be at the forefront of a company executive’s business plan, take a look at what Safety & Health Magazine has to say about these CEOs investments in their companies’ safety:
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- Richard R. Sarles, CEO of Washington Area Transit Authority, has increased the safety staff by 60% and implemented a formalized safety committee taking leadership and engagement to new heights in the organization.
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- David T. Seaton, CEO of Fluor Corp. (a company that is comprised of 60 offices in 28 countries across six continents), instills the highest international standards in all of their locations, which is no small task. Seaton also makes a point of having Fluor’s system continually reviewed so best practices can be applied across the board.
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- Bill Wright, President and CEO of Petrochem Insulation Inc., truly believes in the phrase “you see it you own it” making continuous risk reduction his primary goal. He and his team also implemented “9 Fundamentals for Committing Safety Excellence” to promote an incident-free workplace.
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- Anthony Orlando, President and CEO of Covanta Energy Corp., introduced a program, “which includes two quarterly snapshots of each of its facilities” making performance measurement one his most important goals in achieving safety excellence.
Why invest in safety?
These leaders not only want to keep their employees safe and happy, but they know that injuries are extremely costly. A recent Liberty Mutual poll of executives shows that for every $1 spent on direct costs related to an accident, there are another $3 to $5 worth of indirect costs…putting the actual cost of an accident (with direct medical and compensation costs of $15,000) at somewhere between $45,000 and $75,000.” (ASSE). These CEOs understand that it is much more beneficial to invest in their companies’ safety program than to pay out costs related to an accident that may have been prevented by having a sound safety culture.
How are they creating a strong safety culture?
These CEOs have embraced the four pillars of Safety Excellence: Leadership and engagement, safety management systems, continuous risk reduction, and performance measurement. There is not a one size fits all method to implementing a safety program, although the basis of a good program includes having well written safety & health programs, training employees on applicable topics, and documenting all the necessary aspects of the program and training.
What does the future hold?
Taking a proactive approach to safety puts these companies’ officials ahead of other business owners. They understand that in future years, safety will become more important as industry continues to evolve. Changes to mandated safety regulations and reporting such as OSHA’s adoption of the Global Harmonization Standard and changes to incident reporting, show that that OSHA and other safety entities are pushing employers to take safety even more seriously. As author Suze Orman stated, “Recast your current problems into proactive goals.” The CEOs that understand the true meaning of the word Safety are not just sitting around waiting to be told what they must do to comply with requirements. Instead, they are forging the way, establishing an effective safety program and strong safety culture, and reaping the benefits of an investment in safety.
Resources:
The American Society of Safety Engineers
Safety & Health Magazine
