Introduction
For a robust health and safety system within an organization, an effective and committed leadership is required throughout the organization. It is not enough that only safety department is concerned about the accident prevention systems. From the Landon case it is obvious that the top leadership did not have adequate commitment to safety. In spite of Ms. Lincoln having resources at her disposal, and Ms. Wanda preparing a cost effective proposal for safety measures, the top management did not take the decision in six months. When the pressure from OSHA official mounted, and the penal liabilities slapped on the company, Ms. Lincoln realized the seriousness of the issue. The negligence and postponement of the decision indicate that Ms. Lincoln had lower level of commitment to safety.
Current Situation
There may be many reasons for why Ms Lincoln did not show interest in the proposal by Wanda. The following range of reasons indicates that the importance attached to safety at Landon was very low. The vice-president may have perceived that the investment required for safety systems is low, but the financial requirement projected by Wanda was about $50000 (which may be considered as higher). Another important reason could be the belief that nothing worthwhile can be achieved by complying with the safety standards. Now, the company has to spend more resources not only to install the safety system, but also to meet the penalty imposed.
Addressing the problem
Industrial safety is of utmost importance, because it prevents harm to human body, especially in high risk sectors in industrial environment. Appropriate safety systems reduce risks to employees and processes. The organizations must maintain a safe environment, and the capital required to install safety systems must be considered as part of business building, because healthy and safe employees add to the competitive advantage of the company. Implementing a safety system is always cost-effective to the company. The lower injury incidents in an organization actually lead to better profit margins directly and indirectly. Hence, Ms. Lincoln must not trade off between low expenses and employees safety. Safer work environment contributes to the workers’ productivity and the financial benefits are much more than the investment in the safety equipment.
Conclusion
Safety and health in work place is very important and has indirect effect on the rvenues and profits of the business. Hence, the top management must drive a safety culture within the organization through timely installation and maintenance of safety equipment, and encouraging the safety engineer to innovate cost-effective ways to reduce accidents and injuries to the employees and processes.
REFERENCES
Hantula, Donald A., and Susan M. Hilbert, (1997)."Safety Isn't Simple." Academy of Management Executive, 11, (2). John Czerniak (2005). “9 Elements of a Successful Safety and Health system,” National Safety Council, Itasca, IL.
