For the un-inducted, the recognition of life as we currently know it and its relationship to a business Safety Management plan may not be immediately apparent. For those of us familiar with this landscape, consciously or unconsciously, our days have been consumed by the ongoing assessment of, and response to, the COVID-19 blitzkrieg on our P&L’s and business plan’s perpetuity.
Stepping up to a black belt in risk mitigation, I’ve been consumed by the flow chart of options, dead ends and dangerous by-ways presented by this storm on steroids, threatening to disrupt and potentially destroy that which has been hard-fought and worked for.
As a business owner, my isolation period hasn’t included lockdown jigsaw puzzles, leisurely reads and family reconnection. It’s been a puzzle of a different sort. One where the edges are not so defined, and content not clearly delineated. “ISO” has become a real time, live streaming Safety Management reality TV program. It’s been playing a constant loop aimed at ensuring all participants remain safe, engaged and employed.
Years of safety training, audits and outcomes, provide the lens for risk management. A necessity to quickly evaluate the nature, likelihood and severity of the threat. The compulsory Incident Report identifies the near miss or point of bleed, while the Hierarchy of Control demands a focus on reducing or eliminating the hazard. COVID controls are implemented to protect people and profits. Hand sanitizer, hygiene and health form the new Balance Sheet as assets and liabilities. JobKeeper, JobSeeker, debt deferrals and asset write off opportunities underpin administrative controls. While engineering controls separate customers from co-workers, and personal protective equipment and social distancing become the ongoing subjects of Toolbox talks.
In this mitigation of risk and reconfiguration we’ve all been asking about the opportunities for anyone operating outside the successful sphere of toilet paper, grocery staples, Netflix and online conference calling. For some there’s been no option, eliminating risk has in fact culminated in calamity, the closing of doors, business chapters and shutting down livelihoods. For others, it’s forced a review of the “busyness” often preventing effective business. Cleaning the cupboard, stepping up communication, sharpening the operational sword and honing the hazards are being capitalized on in adversity to drive stronger strategy, re-evaluation and reinforce direction.
As we set these new parameters of risk, it remains important to review and respond, to lock out fear and lethargy, to set a framework for the rebound. A framework of calculated innovation in insecurity, opportunities for rehabilitation and renewal in the wreckage, and the harvesting of low hanging fruits and leftovers. Wrapped up in this Safety Management Plan, this 1,000 piece puzzle, is the hope that dedication and determination will crystalise as a certificate of capacity and return to work clearance for us all.
