Business of SafetyBusiness of Safety The Cost of Safety

SH&E PROFESSIONALS HAVE OFTEN become victims of their own success in achieving regulatory compliance; many business executives view beyondcompliance spending as a fruitless exercise (Soyka and Feldman 61). Compounding this problem is the fact that SH&E professionals seldom use business models or speak in business terms. Safety jargon is often considered irrelevant and inconsistent with standard business terminology and objectives (Hill 25). If the SH&E department does not understand the financial loss to an organization, senior management will find it difficult to understand the financial benefit the safety department provides (LaBelle 38). The end result is that SH&E issues are not fully integrated into the standard business framework; as a result, management views the SH&E function in terms of a compliance-oriented, reactive strategy. The fact that SH&E professionals need to build a business case for their efforts is well-documented (Hill 19). Knowledge in business and accounting helps SH&E professionals speak to management and maintain credibility (Blair 32). To work more effectively with other financial and operations management personnel, it has been suggested that SH&E professionals must become better versed in the common language of business (Adams 23). Cost analysis models are needed to help SH&E professionals measure, analyze and communicate safety strategies in business terms. This article details one such model from the quality management literature.