How Profitable is HSSE Practice?

September 15, 2022; the maiden Safety Profit Conference took off at the Institute of Social Statistical and Economic Research (ISSER Hall) at the University of Ghana. This conference brought together 6 distinguished professionals from varying sectors with the sole mandate of discussing how profitable prioritising health and safety could be for businesses.

The conference was opened by the Convenor (Edward Debrah) who highlighted the reason behind the conference theme - The Safety Profit Conference and why it was essential for employers, employees and governments could look at ways of prioritising health and safety within the various industries from Construction, Oil and Gas, Digitisation, Logistics and Transport, Events Management and Road Safety.

Craig Foyle, 51st President of IOSH, spoke on the cost of accidents and why people must strive to do the one thing that could protect employees, employers, families and the business so monies are not wasted on accidents. He spoke about why people should not get hurt so that businesses aren't affected and families do not lose loved ones. He further explained why there it was important to catch the wave by applying sustainable ways of getting the job done while taking care of workforce.

Alison Hinde shared on how ditigization could be used to improve health safety environment and quality reporting, investigation, reviewing reports and providing real time data for informed management decision. It sounds amazing seeing how with a simple touch of a button on your phone or tablet, so much could be done to protect lives, investments while improving the bottomline.

Baroness Dr Lynda Abrokwa spoke extensively about the 5 step risk assessment process within the logistics and transport industry. She shared valid reasons why we ought to do so much to protect our workforce in a bid to improve productivity.

Emmanuel Jones-Mensah threw more light on the importance of prioritising our physical environment vis-a-vis health and safety. In construction, he opined all accidents are preventable but it takes committed leadership and support to drive that change. He used the platform to talk about how he has influenced change within his company by leading all HSSE initiatives and providing all resources needed for the staff to do safe work.

In Ghana, the rate at which we love attending social events cannot be overemphasised, Debra-Jane Nelson, shared valuable insights on why she still remains relevant in the event design space even after 10 years of sterling performance in event design and consultancy. Her key drivers were to deliver exceptional value to clients so there is a repeated purchase - this she does through getting her hands dirty with her team to ensure all 'Is' and 'Ts' are dotted and crossed. She ensures all staff are properly attired (safety gear worn), tasks are broken down into smaller units to identify all risks and provide mitigation before jobs commence and processes reviewed should there be changes.

Felix shared some damning statistics on road safety crashes in the country and called for all stakeholders to practice defence driving at all times. Following speed limits, checking vehicles are in good working condition, drivers not driving tired, and the absence of drunk driving were some of the highlights of his presentation. The number of road transport crashes this year alone, has claimed several workforce and deprived families of their livelihoods etc.

From the various presentations, questions and answers during the panel discussion segment, it remains safe to say that, so much can be done to prevent accidents from happening rather than watching aloof for accidents to happen. Not only does accidents have moral, financial and legal consequences, it also contributes to loss of productivity that could affect GDP which could have an adverse effect on the economy.

The maiden conference came to an end with a charge to all participants pledges to do one thing that could prevent others from getting hurt.

If you think practising and prioritising health and safety is expensive, try accidents!

Safety Practice is indeed, P R O F I T A B L E !!!

Comments, suggestion and questions are welcome. Thank you