25th November 2000

Health, Safety & Environmental Management Systems

The dangerous illusion of safety that may result from the naive application of management systems standards such as OSHAS 18000 is highlighted in a recent article by Alan Waring entitled 'On the Paper Trail' in the Risk Management section of Insurance Times, 19 October 2000, pages 20-21 (www.instimes.co.uk).

Too often, the proponents and advocates of HS&E certification standards appear to be propelled by a false belief that these offer some kind of salvation from the messy realties of prediction and control where human activity is involved. Possession of a certificate may delude the unwary into assuming that all hazards have been eliminated and that compliance with all relevant legislation is verified. Many of the critical variables affecting decision and action, such as culture and power relations, are beyond effective measurement let alone certification. Many wise and quietly confident organisations use such standards as only one of a number of guides. They know that effective risk reduction and risk control are not simple linear functions of following such standards and may bear little relation to the possession of a certificate.

For further discussion on the problem of 'salvation' models of SH&E and risk management, see Managing Risk: Critical Issues for Survival and Success into the 21st Century (especially chapter 3) in the Books Section or direct to www.thomsonlearning.co.uk.

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For Further Information eMail:
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