Experts call for increased safety practice advocacy
The American Society of Safety Engineers, Nigerian chapter, has called for increased advocacy for good safety compliance in Nigeria.
According to some members of the society, who spoke at a three-day conference in Lagos on the theme: ‘Compliance and intervention for survival’, Nigeria can become one of the world’s leading economies by 2030 with the right reforms and investments.
The President, ASSE Nigeria, Mr. Kamil Abiodun, noted that there was a need to turn the tide of economic development by charting a more creative path towards improving the safety culture of all workers in the country.
“We need to increase advocacy on good safety practice and compliance in ensuring we match up the economic growth by preventing clear, present and potential catastrophic occurrences that may hinder national development,” he said.
He said that the positive report on the country’s growth potential should spur an increase in safety professionals’ marketability and value addition to the economic growth.
The global President-elect of the society, Mr. Michael Belcher, said Nigeria was already a big player in the world and international safety standards must be promoted to stimulate more growth.
He said, “We believe that safety professionals will do a lot by bringing the political class to pick interest in safety standards. We recognise the need to work with safety professionals and there is nowhere else to be right now than in Nigeria considering its growth potential.
“We need to challenge the status quo in our quest to protect people and properties for national growth and development.”
The Secretary and Executive Director, ASSE, Mr. Fred Fortman Jr., said that there must be an increased commitment to safety practice in the country.
“Safety does not happen by accident but when corporate leading, direction and commitment meet. Nigerians are the greatest assets and resources of the country, and this is the right time to make something special happen for the country in terms of safety,” he said.
A past global president of the society, Mr. Rick Pollock, in his paper on ‘Ethics of culture: Understanding human error-dispelling myths’, said human error was a major cause of accidents.
He added that there was a need to eliminate and control human errors and mistakes as well as things that encouraged human errors in work places.
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