Mine explosions, drill rig fires, plane crashes, and many other incidents that result in multiple fatalities are real "headline catchers" in today's media coverage. The loss of life is a terrible tragedy in itself, and the economic loss from these incidents can bankrupt companies. Public outcries against these disasters seem to immediately fuel congressional action to write more and more stifling regulations to punish these so-called "bad actors" that are always accused of putting productivity ahead of employee safety.
Creating more regulations in itself, however, still does not answer these questions: "Is law compliance the best way to improve safety?" If not, then "What is the REAL answer for injury reduction?" Do we need even more regulations? How much is too much? What are the results of increased regulation on industries; on workers; and on the general public? What can companies do beyond law compliance in order to improve safety?
I believe that most companies probably already feel that they are over-regulated. But if regulations and law compliance are effective, why do industries continue to have people get seriously injured or killed every year? In today's society, "big business" is the so called evil actor in the ever-increasing class warfare propaganda that is being perpetrated in a large part by our own government. For an industry to survive and prosper in today's environment, it is imperative that they rise above similar companies and create a positive business environment with a strong focus on employee safety.