Safety Awakening – “Who’s On Your Mount Rushmore Of Safety?”
June 18, 2015 No CommentsIf someone decided to build a new Mount Rushmore National Memorial that featured the four greatest influences on occupational safety and health, whose faces would you like to see enshrined in stone for all time? Below are my picks:
- Dan Petersen – is known as the father of modern safety management. Dan was the first to advocate applying modern management principles to the field of safety.
- D.A. Weaver – is largely responsible for the occupational safety profession moving from the old and outdated “3E” era of safety (engineering, enforcement, and education) to the modern “Safety Management” era (safety culture, behavioral science, and modern leadership theory).
- Ted S. Ferry – was a prolific author and respected USC professor. Ted literally wrote the book on modern accident investigation techniques. He was also a pioneer in the development of accredited safety degree programs.
- Frank E. Bird Jr. – founded the International Loss Control Institute (ILCI) and created the famous “accident cost iceberg”. He: pioneered the study of near misses, developed the vital few concept, and created safety management systems that are still used world-wide today.