Omolabake Fasogbon
Recently, no fewer than 15 buildings harbouring people’s investments at Dosunmu market, Lagos Island, went down in fire. This was just barely three weeks after four buildings were razed down by fire in the same area.
Although, it is not certain the financial worth of investment lost to these recent disasters, report has it that Nigeria lost about N3.19 trillion to various fire incidents nationwide between 2015 and 2022.
Beyond fire, there are other hazards plaguing investment and workplace such as building collapse, chemical exposure, electrical and repetitive motion injury, amongst others.
The recent incidents bring to the fore the importance of proactive safety plan while building investment.
Lead Consultant at Safety Consultants and Solutions Provider Limited (SCSP), a risk consultancy and engineering solutions in life, fire and safety risk management, Antonia Beri, stressed that all businesses must health and safety policy, duly implemented, as enshrined by law.
According to the safety expert, investment in safety helps businesses to drive profit and continue by preventing and mitigating losses from emergency. This is in addition to healthier workforce, higher profits, committed workforce, saved money on workers’ compensation and lost production also enhances corporate image.
Sadly, Beri, noted that many corporates still take Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) with levity and are reluctant to deploy resources to it.
She explained, “In fact, some believe that their common sense will keep them safe at work.
“In African, this has been a struggle. Nigeria as an economic giant should lead the revolutionisation of the continent through sustainable business practices of which safety and security risk management are pillars.
“In fact, consulting giants like PwC, Delliote, Arthur Anderson, Accenture make this a core aspect of any financial risk management baskets,” he said.
Stressing safety culture as one of the safest moves in business, she maintained that doing it right would keep workers and businesses safe from a financial perspective.
She insisted that organisations, regardless of their size must engage competent and compliant risk professional with proven record in crisis prevention, mitigation and response to manage their safety portfolio.
“Risk engineering is a specialised niche to be practiced with strict compliance to codes and standards by experienced consultant s, especially since it serves as a basis for insurance underwriting,” she clarified.
She further emphasised that safety remains a critical path of business risk management chain, adding that any measure of business continuity should begin with it.
“The truth remains that safety is an investment and not a cost as mostly perceived. Although there has been long time argument on how much of operating cost should be set aside for safety amid fluctuating economic indices. Regardless of how much spent, the output often outweighs the input.
“It is being established that for every $1 an organisation invests in OHS, it reaps $4 more. In fact, more recently with economic revitalisation, it is estimated that every $1 organisations invest in safety, they reap $10 more.
“Conversely, the direct opposite cost of accidents, severity of injuries or equipment damages usually range from $1000 to $20,000. A side to side analysis of these projections is enough to guide and direct business owners on the right path of investment to make,” she advised.
In the case of recent market fire that killed one and injured several others, Beri sympathised with those affected, saying the tragedy could be averted or be minimal where there is total adherence to safety principles.
“I am aware that government is planning to set up fire marshals across buildings in the area to prevent a reoccurrence, as well as to create awareness on safety practices, I mean this should have been before now, it is the standard.
“Why wait for disaster to happen before doing the right thing, you can imagine that the loss of life and investment could have been averted or at least impact mitigated.
“The same safety precautions is essential in organisations. A business owner who look down on process safety will keep reinvesting in disaster and divert resources for growth on disaster management and compensation”.
Beri, asserted that executing process safety was more important now in work place where occupational hazards has it reached its apex, noting that ignoring such is to risk asset, environmental, and reputational damage.
According to the International Labour Organisation, ILO, occupational injuries entail major economic losses for enterprises and economies, contributing up to 5.4 per cent of annual global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) lost.
In addition to kitting office premises with innovative safety gadget, Beri enlightened that efforts must also be paid to build capacity of employees on safety updates, how they could interface with equipment and inspection of safety facilities as required by the law.
“This is why in addition to providing reliable and practical engineering and safety solutions, we also prioritise training at SCSP.
“Our commitment to business profitability and continuity has sustained our huge investment in capacity building and safety education in public and private sectors across the region. This we deliver in line with global best practice and industry standards such as NFPA, ISO, OSHA, IBC, SABS, BS and Nigerian Fire Services.
“We try as much as possible to update our connections, including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on modern and best safety practices globally.”
She also called for review of safety plans in organisations to be done at least quarterly or annually. This she said would help to discover changes in regulations as well as failings or problems with such plans.
She submitted that strengthened regulatory enforcement of codes and standards through constant checks and assessment of facilities would significantly minimise loss incurred to workplace hazards and disasters.
