Why Whistle blowing should be practiced???

We all know Many Executives who rule the corporate world with accolades of production ahead of schedule, below budget. some may ponder HOW?? unfortunately some of these these Managers are also arrogant BOSSES when it comes to safety. It may be the new manager who thinks they know it all or it may be the mature worker who may rationalize safety for production.... or those ignorant middle managers who refuse to listen to HSE Representative.

Times are tough in the oil fields. Major projects are on pause mode. It is hard for managements to sustain overhead costs. In the process, based on Management's perceptions, few functions were truncated more than others, Safety, HSE, QHSE is one of the departments that took most cuts. This is the story which we hear today. Safety is one of the costs that is conscientiously needless to many decision makers in the industry.

We often hear ... that safety manager is a trouble maker, we need HSE Managers who are realistic (silent).The drive now is to get HSE Managers who don't write emails, who are diplomatic yet presentable. No one seems to approve Feed back.

HSE Budget & Cuts across industry. ( wrong decisions to be proven in years)

This reminded me of last recession & cut HSE took in 2005- 2006 in the construction industry in middle east and far-east. There is a second wave of job cuts and safety budget revisions, now. HSE is evolving as a subcontractor function in several companies, This HIRE & FIRE basis has disturbed the fundamental role of Health Safety and Environment departments beyond repair.

Bhopal Tragedy is one accident where culture played a major role and Management was blind folded on safety. Managers and operators in the past have been held accountable for fundamental blunders in allocation of budgets and ignorance on SAFETY. We are humans and mistakes do happen, having a feed back from competent HSE staff will not hurt.

It was on the night of December 2, 1984, when Bhopal died a million deaths. The chemical, methyl isocyanate (MIC), that spilled out from Union Carbide India Ltd’s (UCIL’s) pesticide factory turned the city into a vast gas chamber. People ran on the streets, vomiting and dying. The city ran out of cremation grounds. It was India’s first (and so far, the only) major industrial disaster. Till then, governments had handled floods, cyclones and even earthquakes. They had no clue how to respond in this case. The US-based multinational company, Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), which owned the plant through its subsidiary UCIL, did little to help deal with the human tragedy.

Plant Operators response has been incompetent and callous. Even after thirth two years Most studies found groundwater surrounding the UCIL site to be contaminated with chlorinated benzenes and HCH isomers. Carbaryl, aldicarb, carbon tetrachloride and chloroform were also detected in some studies. All these can be linked to the wastes dumped by UCIL plant operator. The Fugitive Manager left the country.

Months ahead of the Accident , The Safety Manager resigned. ( and there was no question on his exit opinion). If attended to, the safety managers call , would have prevented 10,000 Death.

Bhopal was struck by two tragedies: the one that happened immediately, and the other that unfolded in the years that followed. 

In 1989, UCC paid some US $470 million (worth Rs 750 crore that year. My point is Managers and operators tend to get blind under production tensions. It is for unbiased HSE staff to highlight sufficent risk -mitigations around the clock. Safety is a full time job.

Though safety is cut we see a rapid growth for employees working in recruiting companies, head hunters, Finance, HSE Information services and third party consultancy. Safety officers now chase HR, Finance , construction and Project Managements for a job ( not always), however the setting exists. Most often roles of HSE as a whistle blower is compromised.

We have leader behaviors that inspire us towards safety, there are more positive speakers for safety culture and less action for sustainability for safety culture. I dare to ask a question - NOBODY GETS HURT, EVERYONE RETURNS HOME SAFELY, SAFETY FIRST etc. but How do we achieve it ???? especially when those decision makers who are arrogant on safety elevate as Role Models or CEO's in future? We can anticipate several Bhopal unfolding if the setting remains.

When an industry slumps, two things can happen to occupational safety.

It can take a backseat as organizations feverishly try to accomplish more with less.

Or

It can remain a priority, preventing a bad situation from becoming worse.

Safety Jobs are difficult to find and even harder to keep. It is a pre-requisite that all senior jobs in HSE are based on "Fit hand in Glove" foundation. Production priority gives no choice for HSE staff but to cooperate with power players onboard.

Hundreds of oil rigs and several Major projects have been shut down. Thousands of workers have been let go, and those left behind work with an bubble and are worried about next morning.

Employees and Managers are too busy saving their jobs, noone is reading COMAH recommendations, Genuine HSE Management Plan, change management, SIMOPS, ISSOW etc are becoming quite complacent these days. Error is a second away. POwer players are more than ever confident to lie and to operate unsafely. Minus Safety.

Welcome to the latest fiscal downturn in the oil and gas industry. Conflicts between production and safety are quite common. Incompetent and young safety managers stay silent and walkaway in fear of special treatment by Power players in the industry.

Research indicates that bullying begins with conflict (Leymann, 1992), and that organizational culture plays a part in the prevalence of workplace bullying and harassment (Vartia, 2008; Salin, 2008). Key factors contributing to unacceptable behavior include:

• leadership;
• unclear goals;
• organizational constraints, eg finance;
• Lack of control/ambiguity regarding job role.

In uncertain times, achieving safety is no easy feat. Everyone is distracted by fears about their job security. Others might feel work pressure. Shortcuts and Time pressure would escalate conflict points. In the absence of a robust HSE Management system a single conflict could intimidate a large number of employees , who are already scared of losing jobs. A rush to complete a task rather than take the time to perform it safely.

Effects of weakness in organizational culture and individual personality traits foster rise of more than one POWER PLAYER. The game starts with bullying peer groups. Intimidating competent staff and stealing other work. These employees break code of practices , ethics at work on a daily basis. Loud talking is an easy identification. Others look for gratification of their shallow knowledge.

Few reasons for Conflict between ethical violations and HSE ( Safety) Staff:-

HSE Practitioners are trained to identify behavioral changes and prompt individuals to comply ethics and compliance. This is not in the interest of Power players. Why is there a conflict when we already know company rules, regulations and work procedures???? simply because Competent HSE Officers are popular for guarding employees against impacts of shortcuts in work process. This alone is a big reason for power players complaining against HSE staff.

The new work order is make profit ( anyhow). We don't have work method statements that work, risk assessments are minus ALARP. Tools and equipments are compromised. HSE staff are trained to identify errors and rectify them. This again is against the power players.

Under-reporting of workplace bullying and harassment is not restricted to health and safety . The Power players are in every field, particularly trainees, are deterred from raising grievances due to beliefs that their actions will not result in improved outcomes for patient care, and, worse still, that they will be victimized and this will have a negative impact on their career prospects (Quine, 2002).

Are you honest in reporting incidents? have you ever faced stiff resistance for reporting safety violations? Who was responsible and who harassed you. Every employee who is against bullying and ethical violation must stand up against these corporate criminals.

Workers may not provide feedback to the CEO in a developing safety culture due to poverty. Deducting safety budget, reducing HSE to silent lamp posts in organizations will prove to be a disaster some day. Integrity is not in fashion in contemporary period.

If you have noticed HSE Managers provide continuous feedback to his employer. HSE is perhaps the only whistleblower by design in the organization. His role is whistle blowing - when things go beyond control. HSE Managers have a mitigation plan and keeps several seniors informed on a daily basis.

I urge every Manager to pay heed to HSE Managers and safety Officers they have something to say in these difficult times.

Whistle blowers are not held as Heroes in most organizations, they never gets an opportunity to be a senior Manager. These trouble makers & their families suffer the wrath of Power players within organization. nevertheless they report knowing their fate. Even stake holders and employees who are benefited forget them.

What drives whistle blowers??? nothing but Passion for Safety, security. Those who report micro incidents are true loyalists of stake holders, without them no organization can succeed in these challenging times.

Let us be honest in reporting micro accidents, report ethical violations and above all pay attention to whistle blowers and protect Whistle blowers as they hold the key to accident prevention of the future.

Safety First !

Alive Foundation.