The business case for safety

Human factors specialists know the financial benefits of using their expertise in the early stages of a project but it can sometimes be a challenge to persuade senior leaders to invest in it. It’s a problem that Irene Ruiz-Gabernet, Head of Safety and Compliance at Airbus Military UK, puts under the spotlight in an article for the Royal Aeronautical Society.

She highlights a series of obstacles which can stop organisations making the business case for safety, including absent or inconsistent performance indicators, a lack of understanding about accountability and responsibility, and weak business ethics. And she suggests an “influencer holistic approach” that could engage senior leaders and help them better understand the cost-benefit of human factors.

This involves a combination of a clear safety vision, leadership development, a business ethics programme, quantitative tools, a problem-solving culture and key performance indicators. The article concludes: “In the end, we are looking for senior management understanding that it is not the ‘cost of doing business’, it is the cost of ‘not doing business as well as possible’ and how ‘safety and profitability are inclusive’.

“In the current competitive climate and survival of businesses, in detriment of the old view of saving costs, safety and quality departments should be crucial to support organisations to increase business margins as well as stay compliant and operate safely.”

Read the full article on the Royal Aeronautical Society’s website

You can also find out more about sharing the business benefits of human factors in our guidance document Giving Your Business the Human Factors Edge.