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Leadership Matters: The Elimination of Fatalities

3 March 2009

The actions of Senior Leaders are fundamental to the elimination of fatalities. Strong and consistent leadership that demonstrates – every day – a continuous commitment to safe and fatality free production will drive us to zero fatalities.

  • This document provides a guide for Senior Leaders in their relentless drive to prevent fatalities; both through their personal actions and the processes and activities they should ensure are in place. This covers the themes of: living the vision of zero fatalities, focusing on the high potential events, and recognising fallibility of people and systems.
  • Investigations of fatal incidents around the world have demonstrated that in order to achieve safe and fatality free production the following elements are essential:
    • Maintaining a sense of vulnerability – complacency built on past success blinds us to warning signs
    • Ensuring continuous improvement in environment, equipment, strategy and systems
    • Applying the hierarchy of controls – eliminate the risk and
    • reduce the chance of human error
    • Increasing the focus on high potential near fatal events
    • Recognizing the personal – fatal accidents are not just statistics
    • Maintaining operating disciplines – combating the gradual shift to unsafe behaviours
    • Maintaining alertness to increased and unexpected risks during abnormal operating conditions
    • Addressing culture and leadership through objective assessment and, where required, improvement plans
    • Providing courageous leadership in leading change and holding everyone in the business accountable for safe and fatality free production.