The Critical Role of the Safety Professional in Today's Environment
By James C. Bifulco, CSP

Evaluating and exploring the composition of today's safety team — who is on the team, how are responsibilities delegated, and how do we manage and implement these practices — was the theme of a recent professional development conference. Hosted by Safety Executives of New York (SENY), the event included panelists representing management, labor, insurance industry, manufacturing industry, and regulatory environment.

"A goal of SENY is to discuss topics of timely and general interest, and to evaluate trends, controls and procedures as they relate to the safety profession and our membership," said Ms. Bobbie Athey, Chair of the SENY PDC Planning Committee. "The 2004 PDC forced us to look at the make-up of today's safety team and to assist participants in identifying how they, as safety professionals, contribute to the team. Who do we currently interact with and how? What team are we playing on and how do we ensure we're on the right team, with the right chairs at the table."

"The speakers led an incredible program," added Ms. Athey.

Mr. Hank Adams, regional president, Kiewit Construction Company, presented the owner/operator perspective. Highlighting the company's excellent safety record, Mr. Adams suggests getting out in front of your business through proactive vs. reactive activities including pre-operation hazard analysis. In addition, make cultural changes considering unsafe conditions vs. unsafe acts since 90% of accidents occur because of unsafe acts caused by an individual. "Show people where they stand. Celebrate success. Most people want to win or do better," Mr. Adams added.

Winning is a clear motivating factor. The company's last recordable accident was July 22, 2002, and since then, they have worked more than 950,000 man-hours in the NYC area without a recordable event. In his view, the team has to be a cooperative effort with equal participation from owners, management, and organized labor.

Mr. Paul Belliveau, director of training, represented Labor, DC9 master painters, who discussed how his union works toward safety improvement by training, prevention, and cooperation efforts with management to improve safety. District Council 9, the international union of painters and allied trades, spearheads an active safety and health-training program. Future plans to motivate member participation are frequently evaluated. Labor and management can work better together through increased sharing of statistics and more frequent roundtable discussions, Mr. Belliveau noted.

Mr. James Johnson, vice president of Liberty Mutual, spoke on how each member of today's safety team can help determine the forward momentum of safety improvement. Noting that "we are all in the risk reduction business," his presentation addressed the fact that even though there has been considerable workplace improvement over the past century, there are still too many people being hurt at work and the cost of making them well is increasing.

The director of risk management from Coach, Mr. Paul Turiano, CSP, focused on crisis management and how safety professionals are now being included in topics relating to business interruption, security, and crisis recovery. Mr. Turiano, a SENY member, addressed the significance of preparedness, adequate communication, and the necessity of disaster kits and other on-site safety equipment. He commented, "life is a risk, how you deal with that risk determines how you live."

Addressing the regulatory environment was Ms. Jolene Molitoris, president and CEO of GeoFocus. She relayed her experiences as the head of the Federal Railway Administration where she was responsible for safety and directing national policy. She noted that although she was appointed because she was a well-prepared and competent person, she was not prepared for some of the frightening things required of her as head of a major government agency.

The culmination of the PDC included a session led by Steven Simon, PhD, of Culture Change Consultants and a SENY member, who led an program using electronic voting technology that challenged the participants to assess whether as safety professionals they are sitting are the right table within their own organization.

The purpose of SENY is to aid in the progress of the profession of corporate level safety officers and executives to enhance the theory and practice of occupational safety. The group offers forums several times each year to contemplate current developments and problems affecting their positions as they relate to management, professional development and legislation.

James C. Bifulco, CSP, is managing member of Total Safety Consulting, LLC, a leading provider of effective safety management and risk control services. Among other professional affiliations, Mr. Bifulco is a member of SENY.

Story ©2005 New York Real Estate Journal.