A lot of times I feel as though for all the rhetoric that we put into safety it is still seen as a symbolic or placating gesture or at least a conscience soothing token concept to put out amongst employees/workers/clients to show them 'we care'!?*
Whats lost in this concept of course is not only compliance and an acknowledgement that the company and workers have mutual obligations in regard to 'duty of care concepts'but as far as business sustainability/maintenance of machinery,equipment and healthy personnel(wholistic concepts used here) the companies profitability goes up or done according to the safety performance.How is this so.In some ways its not too abstract a concept.I am sure we have all heard of down time...whether it be "client,employer or worker or 'other' factors introducing a 'loss of time"that impacts on costs and charging(ultimately profitability&sustainability).What is hidden though is the fact that a lot of safety requirements if followed in the broadest sense(eg.risk assessment and management link to personnel and operational maintenance issues.The old phrase stitch in time saves nine comes to mind.There needs to be developed a more wholistic merging or appraising of safety as not just keeping workers safe from machinery etc,but appraisal of issues that have both root causes in management and practice with implications on the way profits/sustainability are to be made.
Easy examples come to mind.Workers who do not have a practice of prestart checking equipment and emergency evacuation procedures and no JHA/risk managem,nt stratgey for their particualr job/scope and way /trades workings are likely to have not thought much about the job and hence can start introducing not only life threatening hazards,but unnescessary time loss/job efficiencies.Its not about time aand motion but about the fact that perceived time wasting safety procedures alert workers and employees to possible hazards(compensation possibilities,loss of life,client dissatisfactions etc)but also identify areas(if recorded and acknowledged...preventative and ongoing maintenance.Its about activitating the workers autonomy and potential to extend the management strategy aand harness it to mutual benefit and sustainability.Of course if either block of stakeholders gets the impresssion that such procedures are seen as unnescessary,window dressing or some other negatively perceived undercurrent...the system fails to work.ciao
