Big organizations frequently make safety mistakes, sometimes making the same errors multiple times. This is true even when the outcomes are disastrous, such as an employee being killed or injured and a workers’ compensation claim being made for disability or death benefits. Recently, Safety News Alert published information on research providing new insight as to why safety errors repeatedly occur, even when companies should know better.
A Focus on Both Safety & Profitability Isn’t Possible
The study into why safety errors keep happening was conducted by the McCombs School of Business, which is the business school of the University of Texas at Austin. Researchers found companies make repeated mistakes because they go through cycles called “organizational oscillation.”
This research contradicted earlier data, which suggests companies either learn from their mistakes or fail to learn from their mistakes. If companies go through periods of organizational oscillation, they neither learn nor fail to learn from past problems. Instead, they go through cycles or learning and then of forgetting.
In the immediate aftermath of a serious mistake or a disaster, the company ends up being pushed forwards a focus on safety. Media, lobbyists groups, and government regulation can also cause companies to become more safety-focused, even if an accident does not occur. However, a major catalyst like an employee getting badly hurt is usually a driving force leading companies to be dedicated to improving safety.
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