Safety Symbiosis – Process safety from to the work to home environments.
Chris Israni
A typical response to the terms Process Safety or Emergency Response is different amongst professionals at work versus those at home. Does that ring a bell? Why is that? Is safety at the workplace, such as a semi-conductor plant more important than the safety at that same individuals’ home?
While the challenges of hazardous processes are very well understood at the workplace, it is typically noted that in home environment such an aptitude is met with comments such as “leave this at work”. So then is people and process safety just limited to the work environment? However, the value of human life is priceless – whether it is the workplace or the home environment. The difference lies in the perception that safety is of utmost importance at the workplace. At home, this is many times considered more of a hindrance. When one embraces safety at the workplace in its true essence, the influence is seen in the home environment, which strengthens the belief in safety back at the workplace. Such a mutual symbiosis, take a while to teach. “Leave this at work”, was such a common phrase at the author’s home, such that most family members mocked the author for such a deep embrace of safety. However, a recent incident where the author’s 18 year old witnessed a disaster firsthand, along with the serious casualties, changed the appreciation of safety in the home environment.
The recent Astroworld incident in Houston, Texas resulted in a stampede, with several injuries and ten fatalities. The family member was in the midst of the stampede and luckily escaped and rescued a friend that became his heroic accomplishment for the day. However, he and his friend’s first reactions were the lack of communication and inadequate safety measures. Witnessing the unfortunate events, has become a trauma for these two. Now the entire family has begun appreciating the concept of safety and understands that safety has no holiday.
This paper will discuss some current findings and lessons learned about the incident and some viewpoints of the author on the importance and challenges related to embracing and practicing safety in the home environment. Success in these inturns benefits the appreciation of safety in the workplace, creating a mutually symbiotic relationship that values human lives at all fronts.