Stop Wasting Money on Controls That Are Not Controls

Many companies invest significant time and money in activities they believe are controlling risk. Much of that effort creates the appearance of risk management while adding administrative burden for the workforce. The result is a system that costs more than it should.

The problem starts with how organizations define a control. When every safety activity is treated as a control it becomes impossible to distinguish between measures that genuinely prevent fatalities and those that merely create an illusion of safety.

What Is a Control?

A control is a measure that:

• Prevents a hazardous event from occurring, or
• Mitigates the consequences should the event occur
• Has a clear and specific relationship to the fatal risk being managed
• Can be verified as present and effective

If a measure cannot demonstrably prevent or mitigate exposure to a fatal risk, it is not a control.

• It may be an activity.
• It may be a process.
• It may be a record.
• But it is not a control.

Common Examples of Perceived Controls

Organizations frequently identify the following as controls:

• FLHAs/JHAs
• Toolbox talks
• Safety meetings
• Policies and procedures
• Training

These activities may support a safety management system, but they do not directly prevent a worker from being exposed to a fatal risk. Controls may exist within them, but they are often buried in noise that makes them hard to identify, verify, and manage.

Stop Wasting Money on Controls That Are Not Controls

The result is an expensive system that looks busy but delivers little protection against serious injury and workplace death.

The Fatality Risk Whitespace

Through a Fatality Risk Critical Control Management System, companies build a customized framework that shows what can kill, how it can kill, and which controls prevent death. This gives leaders a clear view of whether their fatality prevention barriers are working, while also exposing wasted effort in activities that do not. This gap is the Fatality Risk Whitespace. 

The Outcomes

• Lower fatality risk
• Increased operational productivity
• Reduction in unnecessary paperwork
• Eliminate low value administrative burden 
• Lowers fatality risk and increases operational productivity
• Focus assurance on critical controls

The Bottom Line

Fatality Risk Management helps prevent death and shows where your organization is wasting money. It provides a clear distinction between:

• Controls that prevent fatalities
• Activities that support the system
• Paperwork that creates the illusion of control

Allocate time, resources, assurance effort and leadership attention to the first bullet.