A number of years ago Fram Filter (oil & air filters for our engines) had a great advertisement, “You can pay me now or you can pay me later”. You can buy a $7.50 Fram filter and change your oil now or pay for a $3,000 motor job down the road. The choice is yours to make.
Unfortunately, there are many health and safety cases today where we are still paying for the motor job down the road. There is never the time and money to focus on Health and Safety until after the disaster.
Ironically, what becomes available after the disaster? The time and the money!! Time and money becomes available for prevention AND we also have to pay for the disaster! What would be the good business decision?? Traditionally we have been great at the reactive stuff. That is the culture we have to change. It is much cheaper and much better business to have a pro-active positive health & safety culture, a culture of prevention. When our senior management group are meeting, what are they talking about?? Money! What should they be talking about?? Money! We could have the safest company in the world but if we aren’t making money, we’ll have the safest plant – the safest empty plant!!
Good health and safety is good business.
It is a much cheaper and smarter business decision to have a pro-active “Positive Safety Culture”, a culture of Prevention.