BUSINESS INTEGRATION IS KEY TO HEALTH & SAFETY PERFORMANCE

Welcome to our CEO, Tom Reeves, as he shares the 2nd of 4 blogs with ideas to consider. Add your reactions to the post below and use the the contact button above so we can continue the discussion!

Have you ever wondered what “Context of the Organization” in ISO 45001 actually means?   It means that health and safety doesn’t exist within a vacuum.  Rather, the health and safety business function exists within a broad context of the organization.

This begins with the organization’s strategy.   Strategy involves how the organization competes in the marketplace, the customers it serves, the competition, the investment community or doners, and how the organization addresses sustainability.

There are also organizational factor, such as the organizational values, the culture (or the way things are around here), people, and the leadership.

Operational factors must be integrated with health and safety.   This may include everything from logistics, R&D, manufacturing, and/or construction activities.

Finally, health and safety management systems exist with other systems.   There may be management systems for quality or environmental risk.  But there may also be financial systems – often called an ERP – or HR systems.

Health and safety leaders should seek to understand the context of their organization and frame a health and safety approach that works with the organization, not against it.