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Topic: Criminal Prosecution of Workplace Serious Injuries and Fatalities - What You Need to Know

Employers don’t hire stupid or suicidal workers, but that can be created with a dysfunctional safety culture.  Enforcing the criminal code with serious workplace injuries and fatalities necessitates the need to think and operate differently.

This presentation will discuss the development of the protocol, convergence of progressive laws, and use of science to open the ‘black box’ of the corporate hierarchy within which corporate decision-makers decide on the priorities of the organization.

The Calgary Police Service is the first police force in Canada with a formal investigation protocol and training for investigators. The protocol was developed based on 35 years of research into causation of serious incidents and safety culture. The protocol is being converted into e-training accessible for Police Services, Crown Prosecutors and Regulators across Canada.

This protocol is not and has never been about putting people in jail. However, it can be an outcome if those that work in the industry fail to take it seriously. The use of the criminal code is designed to provide an additional deterrent effect. This means that organizational decision-makers who take shortcuts with safety that seriously impacts the lives of others will also face life altering consequences. Simply put, the criminal code provides for greater accountability. This will create an impetus for meaningful change provided people believe it can happen to them.

Presently the opposite is true and there is considerable misinformation around workplace criminal enforcement with basic falsehoods:

• Criminal convictions are too hard to make (depending on the situation they can be surprisingly easy),
• Corporate hierarchy and structures protect me (no it won’t), and
• Current safety management systems as practiced provide an effective legal defence (you will be blindsided)

The goal of using this protocol is better awareness, safety and business.

Speaker: Robert B. Stewart BA, MSc, MBPsS Occupational Psychology

1. Royal Dutch Shell University of Calgary Research Project: “A Corporate Strategy for the Implementation of a Hazard & Risk Management Plan”; 2008
2. Case Study: “Creating a High Performing Safety Culture” implemented prescriptive measures with an oil and gas servicing company with 2400 employees in high risk trades; 2009
3. Pilot project for the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association; “Business Model to Re-Engineer Safety Utilizing Coordinated Management & Market Driven Forces” 2012;
4. Coauthor “Failing to Fix What is Found: Risk Accommodation in the Oil and Gas Industry,” Risk Analysis, 2016; and
5. Dissertation: “The efficacy of reasonably prudent behaviourally anchored competencies to; operationally define and measure safety culture. University of Leicester 2017
6. Principle developer of the socio-technical evaluation which is an innovative process that examines the effectiveness of safety performance, not by measuring what prescriptive elements are in place do, but rather how well the process is executed i.e. “the way we do things around here”. Examination is through High Reliability Organization pillars and use of behaviourally anchored system competencies producing culture and operational risk measures.

We hope to see you there!