We cannot be complacent

'We cannot be complacent'

PRESIDENT of the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago (AMCHAM T&T) Stuart Franco has called for organisations in all sectors of our economy to adopt a policy of full transparency in the way they respond to accidents and emergencies when they occur.

Franco made the statement on Tuesday as AMCHAM T&T hosted the launch of the upcoming 27th Annual HSSE Conference and Exhibition, at Ohana Restaurant, Chaguanas.

Franco said AMCHAM T&T wants to continue building on its legacy and making sure HSSE policies continue to be at the forefront of every decision organisations make to survive and thrive in today's business landscape.

The theme for this year's HSSE Conference and Exhibition is 'Learn, Empower, Sustain'.

'The first word, 'Learn', reminds us that we must keep enhancing our knowledge and awareness of all the new concepts and theories that are revolutionising how we work, live and play in a continuously changing landscape.

'We cannot become complacent, thinking that we know everything and that we have all the solutions. A robust safety culture requires us to keep up to date with all of the latest trends and technologies that will improve and strengthen our safety systems and processes,' Franco said.

'Implementing the right systems' 'Next, we have 'Empower'. It is so crucial that we create an environment that not only keeps our people safe and secure, but also empowers them to achieve their greatest potential. Implementing the right systems and policies is one thing, but we must keep asking ourselves how we can establish a safety culture that allows all employees to feel seen, heard, trusted and included, allowing them to perform at their best.

'Finally, we come to 'Sustain'. This, to me, is the most important. So often we spend a lot of time trying to enforce new policies and programmes to learn and empower, but we often hit a stumbling block when we discover our best-laid plans fail after the enthusiasm and interest wear off. We ask ourselves: why? The answer is simple-we don't spend enough time figuring out how we intend to sustain what we hope to create or change,' he said.

Franco said most times we focus only on correcting the wrong, but not necessarily on changing the culture that fosters the wrongdoing.

He said our approach must be different if we want to ensure we are building lasting and impactful systems that allow our people to feel safe and our organisations to thrive and succeed.

'So, that's why this year's HSSE Conference remains very relevant and important to everyone in our society today. We have seen the unprecedented pace at which the field of HSSE has evolved over a short period of time. This has been largely driven by technological advancements, heightened public and regulatory attention to health and environmental issues, and the enduring impact of Covid-19. Now we must ensure our safety systems match up to these rapid changes,' Franco said.

'This entails, but is not limited to, keeping up with the latest trends, having the courage to embrace digital transformation and increasingly integrating HSE objectives into our overall corporate strategies in a more empowering and sustainable manner,' he said.

'Just in the past year in T&T, we have seen the seismic impacts of accidents and emergencies in the workplace. These incidents, while tragic and heartbreaking to the families of the victims, cannot be the legacy we leave behind. We may not be able to change the past, but we can transform the future so that our employees feel and experience a sense of safety and security while in the workplace. That's why we are asking for organisations in all sectors of our economy to adopt a policy of full transparency in the way we respond to accidents and emergencies when they occur,' he said.

'Doing the right thing'

'In this approach, there must be more of a willingness to share the lessons learned from these negative events. This isn't just about accountability, but more importantly, it's about creating a culture of learning and teachings that can prevent future incidents and save lives. This goes beyond reinstalling public trust in our institutions but, more importantly, it's about just doing the right thing by our people when it comes to embracing safety,' Franco said.

Franco said this year AMCHAM T&T wants to enforce a stronger culture of learning, empowerment and sustainability in this country's HSSE policies and processes.

'We want to ensure that we are amplifying the messages we deliver on important issues such as mental health, psychological safety, cybersecurity, generational diversity, advancing the environmental agenda, embracing digital technology and promoting a process safety culture,' he said.

Franco said last year, AMCHAM T&T decided to host a two-day cybersecurity conference simultaneously with the HSSE conference.

'Why? The answer is simple. Security is a business imperative-a growth accelerator. It is no longer a 'nice-to-have', but it is the safety of your data and your customer's information. Cybersecurity is a change maker-companies are using cybersecurity as a differentiator to deliver better business outcomes. It is not a matter of if your company would be breached-it is a matter of when. If there are vulnerable points in your systems, then they can be exploited. Few of us would recover from a massive security breach,' he said.

'Cyberattacks were the fifth top-rated risk in 2020 and continue to grow in 2023, with IoT cyberattacks expected to double by 2025. Plus, the World Economic Forum's 2020 Global Risk Report states that the rate of detection (or prosecution) is as low as 0.05 per cent in the US. We do not know the detection rate for Trinidad and Tobago, but we are advocating that prevention is better than the cure-so just as you protect your premises, it is now a business imperative for you to protect your data,' Franco said.

AMCHAM T&T's 27th annual HSSE Conference and Exhibition is scheduled to be held on October 31 and November 1.

'STRENGTHEN SAFETY SYSTEMS': President of the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago (AMCHAM T&T) Stuart Franco speaks at Tuesday's launch of the 27th Annual HSSE Conference and Exhibition, at Ohana Restaurant, Chaguanas. -Photo: AMCHAM T&T