Financial literacy and the OHS professional
I hope that, like me, you occasionally experience a revelatory conversation about occupational health and safety. My latest one was when I asked a colleague for clarification on what is meant by "financial underwriting model". This phrase came up in a discussion about the business blockages to OHS progress.
My understanding is that it refers to the reasons for a company's inability to change its business activities and production processes as quickly as one would want to in order to address occupational hazards and risks. OHS advocates, myself included, often wonder why organisational changes cannot be made to address hazards that we see as fundamental and inexcusable. This wonderment is compounded by OHS guidance from WorkSafe and others that inform us of the changes needed to comply with the law, but without discussion of the legitimate business pressures that restrict progress.
The conversation I had was with someone who explained that employers often hesitate to make necessary OHS changes, because they will complicate the production process, especially if the employer has invested significant capital into equipment, plant or facilities. Making processes safer may require significant redesign of machines or cultural change that will disrupt processes that are vital to the business' continuing success.
To begin the shift to safety improvements, OHS advocates need to explain how it will generate a return on the investment. And by ROI, this is not just the money received from the OHS changes to be made, but also a calculation of the cost of affecting that change, of redesigning the work, of changing culture, or replacing significant influencers who may also be hazardous.
I don't know about you, but I am crap at running a business. My last lesson in economics was a unit of Consumer Studies in high school in the 1970s. I have next to no financial literacy, yet I advise companies on the OHS changes that are needed to comply with their legislative obligations. I accept responsibility for that illiteracy, but I also note that nowhere in any of the OHS courses I have attended has the financial underwriting model been discussed. I also cannot find any discussion of this in the various guidances issued by OHS regulators or even Safe Work Australia.
I am seriously considering my colleague's advice about looking for a suitable project management course or a "finance for non-finance people" course. Maybe someone can develop a seminar or course specifically for the OHS context.
Kevin Jones https://safetyatworkblog.com/
