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Achievement-Based Safety Metrics
To move to an achievement-based model or a performance-based system you must establish specific goals, performance targets and standards that you can measure to determine if your system is working and whether adjustments are necessary. Which measures should you use? Much will depend on the size and characteristics of your company and the industry you’re [...]
How to Measure the ROI of Your Safety Program
The good news is that the notion of safety as corporate cost center appears to be on the way out. Research like the seminal 2001 Liberty Mutual study show that most CEOs and corporate decision makers have come to appreciate that safety programs do—or at least have the potential to—generate positive return on investment (ROI). [...]
How to Demonstrate the Effectiveness of OHS Management Systems
Occupational health and safety management systems (OHSMSs) aren’t required by regulations; they also require a significant investment of money, time and effort. Are they worth it? What evidence can a safety director rely on to demonstrate that OHSMSs are effective? This article will help you demonstrate to management the effectiveness of OHSMSs using a review [...]
Showing How Worker Fatigue Hurts the Bottom Line
With the economy in a downturn, companies may be tempted to try to cut costs by using fewer workers to do the same amount of work. But this strategy is likely to cost companies more in the long run. As safety coordinator, you need to be aware of the dangers of workplace fatigue and warn [...]
Worst Business Decisions in History
The dumbest business decision I ever made was not actually a business decision. And, it wasn’t my decision. It was my mother’s. When I was about 15, she tossed out my baseball card collection as part of an ill-advised campaign to rid the house of “clutter.” Little did she suspect that that “clutter” would be [...]
How to Use Search Engines to Your Advantage
Google and other Internet search engines have changed job seeking like they’ve changed everything else. What hath Google wrought? And how can you, as safety professionals, take advantage of Google to enhance your job search and career prospects? Here are 3 quick tips.
1. Give Yourself a Regular Google
Understand that Google has become a tool for [...]
3 Case Studies
Here are three examples of companies that successfully used TCA to win approval for EHS initiatives—and to identify and thus avoid initiatives that weren’t financially sound. Although the case studies involve environmental initiatives, the financial issues they raise are also common to the evaluation of safety initiatives. Thus, these case studies can be used to [...]
Using Total Cost Assessment to Prove Value of Safety Initiatives
Convincing senior management to invest in safety initiatives can be an uphill battle, especially when the initiative isn’t specifically required by law. Of course, demonstrating that the initiative will cut costs and/or boost revenues is a great way to sell it to the business people who control the purse strings. But doing so is easier [...]
What to Look for in Results Tracking Software
Like other functions of safety management systems, tracking the consequences of preventive actions has moved from the realm of paper to software. Although technology offers significant advantages, it also poses equally daunting challenge. First and foremost, you need to ensure that your tracking software has the right technological capabilities and [...]
Worst Oil Spill in US History Blamed on Several Critical Failures
The worst offshore oil spill in US history began a year ago today – April 20, 2010 – with a fire and explosion that killed 11 workers on BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, the aftermath of which will likely linger for years to come.
The Deepwater Horizon, a $560 million rig owned [...]
