Safety is cost-saving
I read somewhere a safety quote that goes thus “If Safety is expensive, try accident” and it got me thinking long and hard about the expenditures we have made into our safety agenda over the last years. One of the major pre-occupations of managing an establishment is to take a critical look at the different areas that resources are expended on, and where cost needs to be cut back. The truth is, if there is any area that spending has been adequately justified for us, it is in the area of safety. The return on investment for us is evident in the 10 LTI-free years we have recorded in all our operations, which for us is massive. Nothing gives us more joy than finishing every year with all our personnel going home to meet their loved ones. The value of that can only be truly appreciated when you have gone through the heavily emotional process of having to go to a family to tell a young wife and kids that their father will not be coming home anymore because he died working for you. It is an excruciating experience that thankfully we have not had to go through and one that gives us the impetus to continue to make investments into the safety of our personnel.
One must always understand that the cost of accident is massive. Direct costs including workers' compensation payments, medical 
expenses, and costs for legal services plus the indirect cost of accident investigation and implementation of corrective measures, lost productivity, repairs of damaged equipment and property are huge expenditures that we are not willing to make, hence we will continue to invest in safety. As a matter of fact nothing deals a company a more massive blow than a damaged reputation that takes so much hard work to build. The negative publicity that trails accident investigation and possible court cases creates a drain pipe for company’s finances and negatively impacts the bottom line.
Personally, I am appreciative of the HSE team that has not failed to nudge us in the direction of Safe Systems of Work. The HSE theme that was chosen for 2017 “Safety… Every time” aptly characterize the mentality that we are determined on making a necessary part of our operation. We will continue on this path and end the year strong with every one working for and with us going back to their family safe.
Rotimi Awonise
FSM – Completion tools
TECHDaer Services Limited