Any competent directors will want to comply with the law when managing SHE, but directors are also keen on protecting their reputation and assets of themselves AND their business from the adverse publicity that a serious accident would bring. Directors and managers will want to avoid undue pressure arising from employees, trade unions, and customers because of poor safety and health management and the stigma and other consequences of a prosecution such as criminal convictions, fines, or even prison.
An effective safety and health management strategy is a principal component of a modern organization’s corporate social responsibilities and ensures that the organization doesn’t lag behind its’ competitors in its sector.
A great way of getting an overview of the management of SHE is to use Certainty Software software – Certainty Software allows for data entry from paper using optical character recognition (OCR) technology, browser or the Certainty Software app for smartphones and tablets. With Certainty Software, your audit and inspection data is instantly available for company-wide reporting and analysis. Certainty Software has an action management tool for tracking and closure of corrective actions identified in the audit process. Certainty Software is ideal for managing data and the corrective actions required from any audit or inspection process.
There is considerable evidence of the financial benefits to be gained from effective safety and health management such as:
- Increased productivity when using safe operating procedures
- Reduced insurance premiums
- Less sickness-related absences and training costs for replacement staff
- Better staff retention and morale
Avoiding the costs associated with poor safety and health management ensures that an organization’s reputation and assets are protected. Factors that lead to poor corporate safety and health accountability include:
- Failure of the board to take control
- Rubber stamping of management decisions on safety and health issues
- Lack of resources assigned to safety and health by the board
- Failure to have competent safety and health advice available, either internally or externally
- Failure to have adequate communication on important safety and health issues
For more on Certainty Software, click here.
