The Safety Institute of Australia‘s OHS Professional magazine has been out for a couple of editions now and the good news is that it is improving. The sad part is that it remains well-behind other OHS magazines. The latest edition has contributions, finally, from a freelance writer, Liam Tung. Liam is not an OHS professional, … Continue reading “OHS Professional magazine is a mish-mash”
The ramifications for corporate America and particularly, the oil industry, from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are becoming clearer. In his 15 June 2010, address to the nation, President Obama stated his financial and operational expectations of BP prior to his meeting the company’s CEO, Tony Hayward on 16 June. In essence, BP will be required to fund … Continue reading “Off shore drilling safety will change forever”
On 8 July 2010 the United States government asked its Chemical Safety Board (CSB) to consider investigating the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. It would be good news for safety and the environment for the CSB to take on this role. Primarily, CSB is well placed to consider any issues concerning the safety management structure … Continue reading “Independent safety investigation into BP’s Gulf disaster requested by Congress”
On 1 June 2010, the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA) informed its 3,000 members that Professor Andrew Hopkins has been “nominated for a spot on the US commission’s inquiry into the disaster’s causes”. Andrew Hopkins has advised SafetyAtWorkBlog that the nomination is not true and that the article is inaccurate. His name was included in … Continue reading “Inaccurate claims made of BP spill inquiry membership”
Guest contributor Jim Ward writes: Interested observers of past OHS failures would do well to pay close attention to the insights of former BP employee Ross Macfarlane in the SafetyAtWorkBlog – A personal insight into BP and the corporate approach to safety. His erudite observations of some of the underlying issues surrounding BP’s succession of … Continue reading “Leadership starts with the truth”
Ross Macfarlane is a regular reader of SafetyAtWorkBlog and an active safety professional in Australia. Below he provides his perspective on BP’s approach to safety as an ex-employee [links added]: As an ex-BP employee I am again feeling a strong sense of dismay at what is occurring in the Gulf of Mexico. The fact that … Continue reading “A personal insight into BP and the corporate approach to safety”
In Australia, safety management is being progressed most obviously through sociology and the work of Andrew Hopkins. But perhaps it is possible to cut through some of the commercial “safety culture” twaddle by looking at the work of philosophers and the concept of phenomenology. As any modern student seems to do instead of reading the original, look to the movie. … Continue reading “Phenomenology and the safety professional”