I

understand on a philosophical level that everyone owns “quality.” Much like safety, everyone has responsibility for following safe practices and calling attention to potentially unsafe conditions. However, there are also safety departments responsible for establishing safety policies and procedures, as well as conducting periodic safety inspections. They also report safety metrics such as “OSHA reportable” incidents and near misses. Members of the safety department keep current with the latest safety equipment, changes in the regulations, and benchmark against best industry practice. Management takes these reports and metrics quite seriously, because it is ultimately responsible for ensuring a safe work environment.

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