ERM 2018 Global Safety Survey Report

Our clients have been reporting an uplift in stakeholder expectations on safety and increasing commercial and legal penalties for poor safety performance. 

This, in turn, appears to have caused a spike in senior leadership interest in safety. We have also observed that companies are investing substantial resources in safety processes and programs, but significant performance challenges remain, especially with regards to continuing occurrence of serious injuries and fatalities. There appears to be a growing sense that traditional approaches to safety may actually be impeding progress.

In 2018, ERM undertook its first Global Safety Survey to explore these themes, to assess if there is a deeper shift in perceptions on safety, and to bring fresh insight into the implications of these developments for organizational leaders and their safety functions. Between January and July 2018, we interviewed 144 senior safety functional leaders. All were key decision makers, and most brought a global perspective from their roles and their organizations. 

The survey confirmed our initial observations but also provided some insights which were surprising.