Preventing Corporate Accidents Paperback - 2008

From the publisher

The passing of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill in the UK and increasing public and investor pressure for good Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility, means organizations now, more than ever, need to ensure they do all they can to prevent major accidents. However, past experience shows that just implementing safety management systems is not enough and this book makes the case for a more holistic and ethical approach to improving corporate systems as a whole.Preventing Corporate Accidents shows how major accidents can result from human error and defects in corporate systems. The book describes accident prevention strategies, from safety culture, safety management systems, foresight and planning to safety regulations, corporate ethics, corporate social responsibility and the learning organization. Barry Whittingham illustrates with international case studies from various industries how and why these defences have failed in the past, and more importantly, how to strengthen corporate systems to prevent future major accidents.The case studies include:

• The loss of the space shuttle Columbia
• Infant heart surgery at Bristol Royal Infirmary
• The Davis-Besse nuclear power plant incident
• The fire and explosion at the Conoco-Phillips Humber oil refinery
• Herald of Free Enterprise and Southall rail accident manslaughter prosecutions