World without Standards and Regulations

Can you imagine the world without standards and regulations? Do you have an understanding of standards and regulations and the role they play in our lives as consumers and business players? It is noteworthy to add that violations of standards may result in fines or penalties but not jail, violations of regulations however, depending on severity may result in jail.

In my previous post, I have noted the reason why did so many people die when the Titanic sank. And that’s because there were not enough lifeboats for everyone aboard the ship. It was mainly caused by poor navigational safety standards and regulations and the safety controls placed at the time were insufficient.

Now, let’s take a look at the Oil & Gas’ largest environmental disaster in US history which happened in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion that killed 11 workers and injured 16 others. It is plain to see that you cannot have an oversight in complying with laws and regulations like safety management system and environmental management system. Negligence on your part may result to fatal injuries and death.

As with all management systems, safety risks should be well-defined, suitable controls should be implemented, and effective communication should be properly implemented across the enterprise. Environmental health and safety regulatory compliance is becoming increasingly more difficult to comply with and to manage with the convolution of the ever-changing regulations which are imposed annually.

It’s such a chaotic world with all the ambiguity that it is causing on which regulations to apply and how it impacts internal audit, behavioral risk, operational risk, evidence, policies and procedures.

More organizations nowadays are taking the revolutionary step of having GRC software to address the issues involved in complying with regulations. Imagine a regulatory change management software solutions bundled with expert advisory services that address your EHS regulatory compliance, operational and behavioral risk, incident management, policy and procedure tracking, and audit.

Although employing technology is just one aspect of implementing an effective safety management system, organizations have a moral obligation to protect its employees and to provide a safe workplace and work activities. After all, people are your greatest asset.

*The author’s views and opinions are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views and opinions of 360factors.