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”
The Australian Financial Review published a brief profile of the 53-year-old CEO of the ANZ Banking Group, Mike Smith, on 22 April 2010 (page 23, not available online). The article ostensibly reported on an ambush and shooting that Smith experienced in South America in 2007 but it also revealed some of his attitudes to leadership and OHS. … Continue reading “A glimpse behind the CEO veneer”
Reviews of OHS legislation by governments are usually keenly anticipated as they mostly occur once a system is broken. But there seems to be considerable trepidation with the plan announced on 14 June 2010, by the Prime Minister, David Cameron. Cameron has appointed Lord Young to undertake an extensive review of OHS. According to the Prime minister’s media statement: … Continue reading “Lord Young = old approach to OHS”
Guest author, Yossi Berger writes: “What’s the point of tellin’ them the same thing over and over when nothin’ changes? I open my mouth about safety again I could lose me job” he said, “Why would I bother?”[a] Introduction Words and names can be used as sneaky accomplices to construct popular or inaccurate narratives. When … Continue reading “OHS Canaries and Apathy”
The recent release of a new book on Operation Mincemeat has again raised the term “yesmanship” in the media. Online definitions explain the term as “An atmosphere in which people claim to agree with leadership for political reasons, even when they don’t actually agree with leadership” . The significance of the term in relation to the current trend of “safety culture” should … Continue reading “Yesmanship – the biggest threat to safety culture”
FutureMedia has finally issued a clarification on its claim that Professor Andrew Hopkins was nominated for the US Commission of Inquiry into the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill as discussed at SafetyAtWorkBlog on 3 June 2010. It advises that it took its nomination story from comments by the “former Research Director of the US Chemical Safety … Continue reading “Clarification on Andrew Hopkins and the US Commission of Inquiry”
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”