No Downturn Here
- By Jerry Laws
- Jun 01, 2008
File this under the heading of good
news: DuPont Safety Resources
(DSR) is having a solid year, and
its clients aren’t selling safety short
in a weak economy. Another good sign is
that an increasing number of companies
are signing long-term contracts,
said Bob Krzywicki,
DSR’s North America operations
leader.
“Certainly the economy
is a factor, but I think a more
important factor for every
client we’re involved with is
the concept of social responsibility:
‘I really don’t want to
see my employees injured,
and I’m willing to do what’s
reasonable to make that happen,’”
Krzywicki said during
a break from a busy April afternoon
at the IAPA Health
& Safety Canada 2008 conference
in Toronto.
DSR isn’t a quick-hit
consulting firm. Its safety
consultants advocate benchmarking and
comprehensive analysis that support a cultural
leap forward, as it were, although
Krzywicki noted sustainable progress isn’t
accomplished in just a few months. It is
not unusual to work with clients who
plateau, he said, adding that the organizations
that commit to this goal will make
progress over a period of years. The
process starts with an organization’s leadership
but must involve everyone in the
organization, he said.
Knowing only a little of what this
process demands of a client, I expected
Krzywicki to tell me safety is suffering during
this year’s economic slowdown. Quite
the contrary, he said.
“Many firms today are looking at enterprise
risk management,”
he said. “And I think they’re
aware that if they have a
significant event, it can
make the difference between
surviving or not as a
company.” Clients today do
cost-benefit analysis and
can see the payoff of safety
programs down the road,
he added.
“We’re certainly seeing
strong demand and strong
interest in our offerings,”
Krzywicki said. “Overall, it’s
shaping up to be a good year
despite the economy.”
The companies recently
signing multi-year engagements
with DSR are in the
United States, Canada, and Australia; the
firm was about to engage with a national
oil company in China at the time of our
conversation. “We’re seeing it all across the
globe,” he said.
This article originally appeared in the June 2008 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.
About the Author
Jerry Laws is Editor of Occupational Health & Safety magazine, which is owned by 1105 Media Inc.