While safety is embedded in a company’s culture, often a clear path to achieve safety goals is not present. According to a new report, 75% of the respondents said that safety is part of their organization’s corporate culture, but only 40% said they have a well-defined safety performance roadmap in place. The report, from Sphera, was based on a survey of 350 risk, process safety and health and safety professionals
As for the key safety performance drivers, reducing operational and major accident hazard (MAH) risk exposure came in first at 60%. Regulatory compliance, at 48%, was second and corporate and board priority rounded out the top three at 37%.
As far obstacles to delivering planned safety-critical maintenance and inspections, the report found that 51% of respondents point to limited resources, 43% to conflicting priorities and 31% to limited budgets as the main obstacles to delivering planned safety-critical maintenance and inspections, which has remained consistent.
And, of course, the report this year was different due to the pandemic.
“The pandemic has highlighted just how quickly safety and risk management processes can be thrown off balance," said Sphera CEO Paul Marushka, in a statement. "Safety in all its aspects makes for a resilient and sustainable business model, especially in an era when ESG goals are of the utmost importance.”
Employers' awareness of the safety hazards facing their workforce has been heightened during the pandemic. Over a quarter (27%) of respondents indicated that the adoption of centralized Health and Safety processes is lagging.
“An effective safety culture and efficient safety process help ensure a healthy workforce and enhanced business performance," Marushka added. "However, we are still seeing a gap in how companies link safety and business performance, which highlights a need for a more holistic approach through data, software and expertise.”