A common and simple question asked, ‘Do you wish to fall sick or meet with an accident’ will meet a reply ‘no’.

Everyone desires to behave and choose as per own will, convenience, habits, traits, and family culture. Once our behavior varies, results and consequences too, shall follow different paths. Value beyond compliance is about the fundamental synergy between economic performance and social progress.

If we talk about it in general, it leverages shared value principles, innovation, analytics, digitization, and strategic and evidence-based solutions to deliver socioeconomic impacts and simultaneously foster operational efficiency and business competitiveness.

Let us be rational, logical and justifiable in our own actions.

Unlocking value beyond industrial mishaps

Accidents are unplanned physical events with a set of definite causes behind them. They don’t happen without any reason – all lies on our ingenuity to analyze and find out the reasons. It is true for both simple as well as technologically complex nature of happenings.

With advancements in technology, larger forces and energies of nature are being harnessed for human use and services.

Processes are brought into the industrial applications only when safe and healthy measures are successfully tested for their ill and harmful effects. Any EHS service provider can help streamline industrial needs – that ultimately benefits ongoing efforts at the site. In such technical complexities too, industrial incidents result in human failure.

As a professional, especially when it concerns you, it becomes essential to tackle those risks using systems, well-planned methodologies and up-to-date human behavior with adequate care.

Anticipating the industrial environment

Industrial workplaces convert raw input to finished goods and services for the outside world, using machines and processes under the command of workmen, supervisors, engineers, and managers.

Safe systems and methods of work, healthy and safe working environment, safe plant & equipment are all important. However, there are limits to the improvements through this approach. Behavioural safety is a potential way of gaining further improvement in safety, health, and welfare of workforce through workforce involvement at all levels, in addition with employee commitment.

Behavioural safety is closely limited to company culture and values and when it works, it is an excellent tool to improve the safety performance in a workplace.

A total safety culture is one in which individuals including contractors hold safety as a value and not just a priority; they take responsibility for the safety of their coworkers in addition to themselves – ‘even going beyond the call of duty’. This is a noble thought worth practicing.

In line with the call of OHS laws & regulations, developed countries have established safe systems and methods of work, healthy and safe work environment, and safe plant and equipment.

As a part of continuous improvement process, developed nations are sincerely adopting behavioural safety in their industries. Results are obviously encouraging, and their industries are endowed with fine safety culture. These values are central to a successful enterprise.

Some industries view OHS as an inconvenience, as a cost rather than a benefit. Emphasis for the same becomes essential as importance of good safety practices is not understood – one can fail to reap the benefits of being safe and healthy.

Many Indian industries have introduced good OHS systems and started developing behavioural safety at managerial levels. Others should take lessons and try to improve in the field of safety, health and welfare.