Transparency {and general EHS rambling}
About EHS rules and regulations.
Let’s not only hear about the large errors at Foxconn and BP
We all know there are hundreds of other violations companies commit.
You can only learn if you have a culture of transparency.
Keep a public record of all accidents, situations and challenges, how you overcame them.
What lessons have you learnt?
Only when you investigate all accidents and do case studies for all situations can you provide the critical information to your staff and trading partners to prevent future accidents.
Thorough investigations can be one of the most valuable exercises you carry out!
Create proper SOPs
- They create more structure in your business
- They make it easier for new and current employees to do their jobs and learn
- They prevent large scale mishaps at scale which can be fatal
- They help you improve productivity
- They decrease your costs
On top of this you can prevent damage to your entire business segment.
Stop stupid errors
Stop relying on paper-based or disparate electronic systems like spreadsheets or custom-built databases:
- They don’t provide control and efficiency
- They don’t effectively maintain EHS compliance
- You can’t manage key processes and observe stringent procedures with them
- Tracking SOPs are impossible
- Forget about local, national and international regulations and compliance guidelines like ISO 14001, ISO 9000 and OHSAS 18001.
THE biggest shortfalls of siloed and inconsistent EHS management is the lack of transparency.
No lessons learned!
EHS compliance vary across industries but the overall objectives of environmental, health and safety compliance software are the same:
- Minimise risk
- Compliance with EHS rules and regulations
- Enable your organisation to operate efficiently
- Keep your workforce safe
Stop Corporate Misconduct
Larry said that in the long term we’re all dead so the short term is still in charge:
Fines and public criticisms do very little to encourage companies to reform its safety practices.
Before Deepwater Horizon a massive explosion at BP’s refinery in Texas City killed 15 workers and injured 180 others.
How effective was that!
Very different with airlines.
If they screw up they go out of business. No messing around on their flight deck or ramp operations…
It helps of course that the Federal Aviation Administration has more power to enforce operational penalties including denying operating authority.
The increase in regulatory requirements, public transparency and practices, makes it essential for organisations to have a consistent, standardised and detailed compliance strategy as well as having a set of compliance tools to tackle tough EHS challenges.
There are companies leading the way and taking initiative. They define strategic objectives and tactics. They report annually on a voluntary basis.
Such vision is important not only to set the direction for your company, but also to show how your corporation is being a responsible corporate citizen.
Becoming EHS compliant is a strategic advantage:
- Higher productivity…check
- Properly trained staff…check
- Reputation in tact…check
- Avoiding costs and penalties from accidents…check!
No brainer.
