Auditing safety leadership: three railroad catastrophes

Abstract

Purpose This paper addresses leadership and strategy issues associated with the management of safety. The paper proposes that companies conduct an annual safety leadership audit involving collaboration between their external financial auditors and their internal operational safety experts. Design/methodology/approach Three possible questions auditors should address in such a safety leadership audit are highlighted. The railroad industry is drawn upon for empirical support, including by reference to recent major railroa0d crashes in the US, Greece, and India. Findings The paper highlights the potential benefits of conducting a safety leadership audit, including that it will help assess whether a leader’s claims regarding safety are verifiable and accord with the data reported in financial statements. Several matters of critical but under emphasized importance in good safety leadership are highlighted. Originality/value This paper explores the somewhat novel idea of using audit procedures and external financial auditors to address matters of safety strategy and leadership. The paper proposes that a leader’s claims in respect of safety should be assessed in terms of whether they encourage a climate of “psychological safety,” report meaningful safety indicators, and use a “vocabulary of safety leadership.”