If you have been paying attention to the chatter in the SH&E community the past few years, you no doubt have noticed the use of the word risk has become much more common. In published articles, conference sessions, books and standards--you can hardly miss the rise in it use over the past 5 years or so--although certainly some of the more forward thinkers among us have been on board for many more.
At ASSE's Safety 2013 in Las Vegas, NV, you can’t miss it. In her opening remarks, newly installed Society President Kathy Seabrook said, “Risk is the language of business. It’s how we prove our worth.”
In addition to 15 sessions on the topic, ASSE's Risk Assessment Institute will launch on Wednesday, June 26, continuing the elevation of the importance of risk management to the future of our profession with this major Society initiative. The institute will aim to educate the business community on how SH&E professionals are uniquely positioned to assist their organizations with risk assessments. It is also designed to provide SH&E professionals with training and resources to help them perform risk assessments. A new website, www.oshrisk.org, launched this week.
In addition to 15 sessions on the topic, ASSE's Risk Assessment Institute will launch on Wednesday, June 26, continuing the elevation of the importance of risk management to the future of our profession with this major Society initiative. The institute will aim to educate the business community on how SH&E professionals are uniquely positioned to assist their organizations with risk assessments. It is also designed to provide SH&E professionals with training and resources to help them perform risk assessments. A new website, www.oshrisk.org, launched this week.
This paradigm shift follows right on the heels of several other major ones that have permeated our profession of late, including the importance of safety management systems, prevention through design initiatives, and a review of serious injury and fatality prevention. Savvy SH&E professionals are learning to replace compliance and hazard with risk, risk assessments, risk methodologies, etc.
But does this new way of thinking change the game? For as long as I have been active with ASSE, I have heard us talk about “getting a seat at the table" and being able to talk the “business of safety” and “communicate with the C-suite." These are all good methods that allow us to align workplace safety with business initiatives, furthering our intrinsic value to the organization. However, when I do a live presentation at a conference or web-based session on a topic that addresses a key component of an effective safety and health management system, the first question to populate the queue is, “How do I convince my management to buy into this program and support it with time and resources?” The wording changes from event to event, but the question is still the same.
I think that we may have found the answer--or at least part of it. Again, from Kathy’s remarks, “That is why SH&E professionals are transitioning to broader language for identifying hazards and controls. Business leaders recognize the term risk to identify any effect on a business or an organization; it is the language of business. CEOs, CFOs, boards of Directors, the investment community and the operational side of an organization understand risk.”
As we learn to reframe the discussion and to speak the language of risk, I think we will begin to see more doors open and more seats at the table become available. I believe that our profession will continue to evolve and realize the full organizational integration at a level that we have been working to achieve for the past 100 years. It’s an exciting time for all of us – I’m thrilled to be a part of it.
The word is risk – pass it on.