Items Tagged with 'responsibility'

The intent of a “stop work authority” (SWA) when included in a safety program is to empower employees to take action when they see a situation that is unsafe or think a worker may get injured. Though the SWA process and practice may seem as beneficial at many levels in dealing with operational risk and worker safety; there potentially may be some unforeseen barriers or challenges to its actual utilization.

To improve their safety, outcomes some organizations advocate "everyone is responsible for safety." The thinking behind this is that it will create a universal mindset in their workforce to actively engage everyone. The fundamental problem with this thinking is that it is not practical to hold a group accountable for individual behavior. 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Safety Culture Policy Statement includes a list of nine traits further defining a positive safety culture. These traits describe patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that emphasize safety, particularly in goal conflict situations, such as when safety goals conflict with production, schedule or cost goals.

At lunch Tuesday at ASSE’s Safety 2013 I had the pleasure of dining with Mike Williamsen, one of sharpest minds I’ve met in safety, a longtime friend and working colleague of the late Dan Petersen, and now a consultant for Caterpillar Safety Services.

It’s a sign of the times; 30 CEOs are vying for the honor of being named Annual Responsible Chief Executive Officer of the Year by CR Magazine.

In a new Pew Internet/Elon University survey of more than 1,000 Internet experts, researchers, observers and users, respondents were split when it came to imagining how they expect technology firms will perform between now and 2020 when confronted with situations in which some profits can be made only when they follow rules set by authoritarian governments.

I hear a lot of complaints from safety professionals. Chief among them is that they are held accountable when other people get hurt. It’s a fair bone of contention.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) and the Corporate Responsibility Officers Association (CROA) have released a breakthrough business report called The State of the Corporate Responsibility Profession.

The United Mine Workers of America has released its investigation into the April 5, 2010 fatal explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine – South (UBB) in Montcoal, Raliegh County, West Virginia.

Last August while trolling for votes at the Iowa State Farm, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney created a media stir when, egged on by an irate protestor, said, “Corporations are people, my friend.”