America's Workplace Safety Risks Are Far Too High
New Global Benchmarking Study Shows Lack of EHS Maturity and Future Preparedness
FRISCO, Texas , Dec. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As the fiscal year comes to a close, new research shows that 97% of American workplaces continue to face high health and safety risks. 8.7% of them have a very high risk.
Only 3% of companies believe they are prepared to address environmental, health and safety (EHS) risks. This comes despite growing advocacy for zero risk in the workplace.
Research shows that the key is to collect critical information and use it in a timely manner to prevent or respond to an incident or crisis. More than 1,000 occupational health, safety and health professionals in 20 industries around the world participated in the study. The study was conducted by independent research firm Focus Networks.
Surprisingly, 68% of EHS leaders are unsure about the quality and quantity of the data they receive. (See key findings below .) That doesn't mean health and safety professionals aren't protecting their employees, but they believe processes can be improved.
“Behavioral economics shows us that managers tend to be overconfident in an organization's ability to respond to future events. And we also know that objective data is one of the best remedies against overconfidence. 68% of health and safety experts agreed it was too objective, and the author of this report and approach, Andrew Milroy , senior researcher at Networks, said the study was commissioned by HSI.
“Although we would like to think differently, risk management is still in its infancy. "Ineffective or incorrect assessment of risk probability and severity can be as serious a problem in EHS as it is in cybersecurity," said José Arcilla , president and chief operating officer of HSI, which commissioned the study.
“From a risk perspective, we can't constantly think about if it will happen, but rather when it will happen. If you're not willing to answer the "when" question, you either have a healthy appetite for risk or you're too complacent. Nothing good,” Arcilla added.
EHS maturity varies by industry. For example, healthcare and construction are high risk, but their time horizons are very different. Healthcare has a maturity score of 63.6 out of 100 and is the best performing industry. In contrast, the construction industry received only 49.3 out of a possible 100 points, failing to keep up with industry requirements and standards.
Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Deputy Secretary Liam O'Brien responds to research presented at the World Health and Safety Congress in Sydney, Australia . Companies do not consult or involve workers and their representatives in developing health and safety systems because it is the workers who actually do the work and understand the risks.
"Last year's Actu study confirms these new findings: between 20 and 25 per cent of workers say their employers do not consult or involve them in decisions about their health and safety - this must change."
But there are good news.
"There are a small number of key factors that are important," Milroy said.
“First of all, many organizations are at a very high level of complexity. They could hardly recognize the conditions in which they found themselves. This is because there are many systems that are not connected to each other.
“Security information is often time-sensitive and many companies do not respond to this information in a timely manner. Often people don't even know where and how to report a problem. Therefore, a simple and integrated system can solve many problems. problem,” Milroy said.
The research also found that most organizations approach health and safety from a compliance perspective, rather than as part of risk management or as an investment in people and culture.
“Compliance is a dubious acquisition. Therefore, it is not surprising that many people do not participate in security systems and do not implement best practices. Leaders must reimagine health and safety to make it part of their vision,” Milroy said.
Research shows that companies that leverage data and technology integration best practices significantly reduce complexity. It also focuses on general personal safety, which includes not only physical risks related to fear and violence, but also psychosocial factors such as cybersecurity and privacy.
"Yes, technology is advancing rapidly, particularly in our ability to integrate and utilize data in real time, but ultimately it is about leadership." It's about risk management and company culture. It's about the organization you want, not compliance, and if you don't understand that, you'll fall further behind," Arcilla said.
This report was prepared by Focus Networks on behalf of HSI.
A full copy of the report can be found here.
Key insights for decision makers
Compliance and employment
75.8% of companies focus on compliance and struggle to engage their employees.
67.1% of new organizations “work” in conditions of limited digitalization
88.3% of companies are at some risk and are falling behind in their EHS processes.
70% of EHS leaders use multi-point solutions instead of multi-solution platforms, leading to a growing lack of data integrity.
68% of executives report gaps in the security and privacy capabilities of their EHS processes.
When implementing a new EHS platform, gaining buy-in from executives is key.
The key expected outcome of a new EHS platform is a reduction in workplace incidents and injuries, followed by the desire to reduce time spent on administrative tasks.
More respondents (57%) focus on suppliers and cost consolidation.
A major challenge for immature companies is to effectively engage their employees and workforce in EHS issues.
Lack of communication
When it comes to connectivity, 47% of participants cited disparate systems as the biggest performance deficit.
The connection between complexity and technology is misunderstood
Modern technologies can greatly simplify data collection, analysis, and operations, but few companies understand this connection and prefer to add standalone technologies that are difficult to integrate.
New and modern technologies will improve EHS preparedness, but only the most mature companies understand and exploit this potential.
The biggest skills gap
In general, the four most important gaps are:
EHS competencies by risk level and industry
| Industry | tender | Level of maturity | Maturity |
| oil and gas | Very high | Operation | 57.3 |
| Mining and Metallurgy | Very high | Operation | 56.4 |
| Health | High | Progressive | 63.6 |
| need | High | Progressive | 61.1 |
| construction | High | base | 49.3 |
| Transport and logistics | High | Operation | 52.9 |
| Agriculture | High | Operation | 51.1 |
| production | At the moment | Operation | 56.6 |
| car | At the moment | Operation | 56.7 |
| Retailer | At the moment | Operation | 59.7 |
| Government | Below | Progressive | 61.2 |
| Training | Below | Operation | 58.2 |
methodology
In the second half of 2023, Focus Network, in collaboration with HSI, conducted 1,013 interviews and surveys with EHS decision makers around the world in more than 20 industries. Respondents were asked a series of questions about each component of the EHS function. The answers to these questions are then used to determine the maturity level of each component. For the general maturity GPA, a series of categories related to preparation and risk are defined.
Breakdown of global response: 37% North America , 29% ANZ, 26% UK, 7% Rest of the world.
Organization size: 41% more than 1,000 employees, 59% less than 1,000 employees.
About HSI
HSI is your complete partner for EHS, ESG, training, compliance and professional development solutions. HSI offers integrated e-learning content, training solutions and cloud-based software that enable your organization to improve security, operations and workforce development. Across a variety of industries, HSI helps security and technology managers, human resources departments, first responders, and operations managers train and develop their workforce, ensure employee safety, and meet regulatory and operational requirements. HSI, EHS and ESG platforms, training management, chemical/MSDS management and more. is a unique partner offering a range of cloud-based software solutions with integrated content and training, enabling businesses to do more than simply track and manage multiple workflows. Systems and train employees through partners. HSI is owned by Waud Capital Partners, a leading growth-oriented private equity firm with a total capital commitment of approximately $3 billion . For more information, visit www.hsi.com.
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