Reflecting on my first audit study – we found things many would expect (image 1), like audits largely focusing on administrative items, and superficial matters. And for my construction friends, we found ‘toolboxes’ used a lot to address an issue, even if that issue didn’t have any reasonable connection to something that you’d need to… Continue reading Safety audits almost never target the actual sources of operational danger
Tag: ohs
Audits, excessive compliance focus and risk blindness
Still genuinely surprised that our last paper on audit failures has generated, relatively speaking, so much interest: now the second-most accessed paper in the Process Safety Progress journal. [* It shows as number 1 but that’s a glitch in the matrix. There’s a study on ‘red squirrels tests’ that has HEAPS more views.] No doubt… Continue reading Audits, excessive compliance focus and risk blindness
The Illusive Pipedream of Zero Harm: A South African Mining Industry Perspective
Not much to say here – nor anything particularly new to practitioners – just thought this was an interesting extract from a study that unpacked South African mining company OHS annual reports. They highlight: · “where the injury rates and OD rates show a decreasing trend over time, this should not be construed to mean that health… Continue reading The Illusive Pipedream of Zero Harm: A South African Mining Industry Perspective
Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Occupational Health and Safety Management System Certification Program on Firm Work Injury Rates in Alberta, Canada
This study explored the effects of Alberta’s Certificate of Recognition (COR) and SECOR program on reported firm-related injuries. (Yes, another that’s relying on incident data…) >14k certified firms were matched with >11k non-certified firms from 2000-2015. They note: “In a systematic review on the effectiveness of OHSMSs, Robson et al. [6] found that although most… Continue reading Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Occupational Health and Safety Management System Certification Program on Firm Work Injury Rates in Alberta, Canada
An analysis of the relationship between project management and safety management in the Norwegian construction industry
This study evaluated the relationship between project management and safety management in the Norwegian construction industry. Data was from 111 unique projects and 26 firms. They assessed projects on a range of different project management capacities and safety management. Providing background: · While a robust body of research has looked at both project management/production, and… Continue reading An analysis of the relationship between project management and safety management in the Norwegian construction industry
Behavioral Observations Reduce the Probability of Injury for a Week
Here’s one that may interest (trigger) people. This poster presentation highlights the effects of behavioural observations on reported safety incidents the following week. They looked at data over two years from a chemical manufacturing plant and oil refinery plant respectively. I’m always a bit sceptical on studies which rely on behavioural observations, and more importantly,… Continue reading Behavioral Observations Reduce the Probability of Injury for a Week
Management walk-arounds: Lessons from the Gulf of Mexico oil well blowout
This 2011 paper from Andrew Hopkins discusses the function of management walkarounds, and their role in the genesis of major accidents, using the Macondo blowout accident. *** Note: This type of description is replete with counterfactuals and the clarity of hindsight, so keep that in mind. Overall, Hopkins argues that despite the best intentions of… Continue reading Management walk-arounds: Lessons from the Gulf of Mexico oil well blowout
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