BST: Ongoing Development of Safety Systems Essential to Reducing Injuries
Safety performance is immediately a function of the processes and systems that control exposure to injury. Most organizations have these in some form, yet workplace injuries continue to cost an estimated $250 billion a year. In its book chapter, “The Safety Disciplines,” global safety consulting firm BST explains why the four disciplines at the heart of workplace safety can be deceptively complex to master—and what leaders can do about it.
Ojai, CA – BST is proud to offer for download the chapter “The Safety Disciplines,” from its book The Zero Index. The chapter discusses four disciplines critical to reducing exposure to injury in the workplace.
Businesses spend billions of dollars every year on safety programs, initiatives, equipment, training, staff, and services to prevent injuries to people and harm to property and the environment. While many of these elements seem relatively straightforward, making sense of the vast range of results is not. The reason, say BST experts, is that many leaders don’t recognize how broad the performance range of these systems can be in depth and sophistication, as well integration with other organizational systems. BST developed the Zero Index model to help leaders understand and map the performance of 10 disciplines essential to safety performance.
To improve the performance of safety systems, BST recommends assessing and developing the four safety disciplines: Structure (the formal structure that supports safety decision making, accountability, and action); Expertise (the position, function, and contribution of safety experts in the organization); Scorecard (how the organization seeks and uses information about safety); and Safety-enabling systems (the specific mechanisms used to manage and improve safety).
The chapter offers case studies of organizations that demonstrate excellence in each of these disciplines, from the major oil & gas company whose governance system helped it prevent a catastrophic event to the rail operator that developed an innovative way to calibrate its safety systems across locations. Leaders are also presented with questions for self-assessment.
Chapter author and BST senior vice president Jim Spigener says, “Mapping out a framework of safety disciplines helps leaders, regardless of industry, application, or situation, understand the essential elements of success. More importantly, leaders can see where they are on this continuum, see what improvement looks like, and start creating performance that delivers safety outcomes consistently.”
The book chapter, “The Safety Disciplines” is available at http://bstsolutions.com/en/bc-safetydisciplines
Rebecca Nigel
Communications Manager
805.665.6145
rebecca.nigel@bstsolutions.com
About BST
BST (http://www.bstsolutions.com), a DEKRA company, is a global safety consulting and solutions firm headquartered in Ojai, California. With staff on every continent, BST has helped over 3,200 client sites in 71 countries improve safety performance. BST’s work encompasses a range of industries, including mining, petroleum, chemical, metals, paper, food, utilities, railroads, healthcare, and government.
About DEKRA
DEKRA S.E. (http://www.dekra.com/en/home) is a major global player in the safety solutions market. Headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, DEKRA has approximately 32,000 employees operating in 50 countries. Known for its work in the industrial and automotive certification and testing markets, DEKRA has expanded to the consulting sector in recent years as part of its global commitment to safety.
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