INTRODUCING THE F2 LEGAL "3D ASSESSMENT" AND "3D INITIATIVE PROGRAM".
Over the course of our experience, we've noticed that the single most effective catalyst for making changes to an organization's OHS program, is a serious workplace incident. Oftentimes, it is only when faced with an injured worker, unwanted media attention, or risk of prosecution, that an organization fully turns its mind to and appreciates its shortcomings, regardless of what form they take. Why is that so often the case? At the risk of sounding cliche, there is some truth to the adage that our mistakes are often our best teachers. We often see organizations approach OHS as a front-heavy action item, investing time and resources into developing that catch-all playbook of rules that purports to take into account every foreseeable risk. Once that's in place, it's almost as though a false sense of security emerges...perhaps brought on by the official nature of the many forms, check-boxes, and documents that comprise the typical organization's OHS program.
As is the case with most of us, it's tough to see problems or issues when we think a system is working - which is exactly what we may think, right up until an incident proves otherwise. It's not all that different from your favorite sports team, utilizing the same playbook game in and game out. So long as the team is winning, the coach may not perceive any issues, outside of those that could be adjusted through slight mid-game adjustments. It's only after a particularly deflating loss...or series of losses, and after watching the game footage, that the coach actually recognizes which plays and systems work, and which personnel ought to be running other routes or playing on other lines, in order to keep the team from getting scored on.
It's not all that different when an organization suffers a workplace incident . After the incident, things are suddenly more tangible and apparent. Patterns are suddenly noticed among the several "minor tweaks" that the system required from time to time to correct the odd "outlier"; patterns that would have been noticed, but for that false sense of security. And now, what was once identified as an outlier, is clearly seen as a huge red flag.
We developed the F2 Legal Counsel "3D Assessment" and "3D Initiative Program" around that very concept, with the goal of changing the way you and your organization think about and approach health and safety (the "3D" stands for "Due Diligence Defence").
THE 3D ASSESSMENT: YOU CAN LEARN A LOT FROM AN ACCIDENT.
By utilizing a variety of disciplines, personalities, presentation styles, and formats, our Comprehensive and Select 3D Assessment services are designed to provide a unique, intense, and high impact learning experience that you won't get from other health and safety service providers. Regardless of which package you choose, the 3D Assessment is designed to go beyond just the "how to" of your written OHS Program, to examine and incorporate the critical and (often overlooked) practical and day-to-day elements that are associated with the execution and maintenance of loss prevention, risk management, and incident response principles more generally.
Obviously, we can't guarantee that the 3D Assessment will catch each and every problem that may exist with your OHS Program - and really, we'd question the motives and honesty of any group that purports to state otherwise. Just like your COR audit, the 3D Assessment provides a snapshot of your program over one very specific time frame, and in relation to one specific incident. It's up to you and your workers to apply the knowledge gained from studying that snapshot, to the rest of the pictures you take in the future.
Our goal isn't to offer you a program with fancy charts and statistics that serves only to further encourage that false sense of security we alluded to earlier. Our goal is to provide you and your work force with an experience that highlights the potential failings we see with your OHS program, stresses the importance of safety in a unique and unprecedented way, and includes recommendations for improvement that might only have come to your attention by way of hindsight. We like to look at it as a "field test" of your current OHS Program, or the first game of the season that will help you evaluate not only the effectiveness of your playbook, but also of the team that you've assembled. It might not keep you from getting scored on, but it will dramatically improve your defensive game.
THE 3D INITIATIVE PROGRAM: A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO PROVING DUE DILIGENCE.
Complementing the 3D Assessment is the 3D Initiative Program, which takes the analysis of your OHS Program one step further, by recognizing not only the importance of identifying, implementing, and enforcing certain steps to ensure the health and safety of your workers, but the importance of being able to demonstrate that you've actually done so. Saying that you're doing it is one thing. Being able to show that you've done it is quite another.
Far too often, we see organizations trying to access or put this information together only after an incident - whether for the purposes of defending a prosecution, or for their own piece of mind, as they look back over the days and weeks preceding an incident and question what more they could have done to prevent it. At F2 Legal Counsel, we recognize the immeasurable importance of having this type of information at your finger-tips before that point, as it provides something tangible that you can turn to and continuously build on before the chips are on the line, the damage done, and a prosecution in the works.
While the 3D Assessment is designed to identify certain shortfalls in your OHS Program, the 3D Initiative Program goes beyond that, and is designed to identify certain shortfalls in any future due diligence defence that you may need to establish. Unlike other more traditional OHS initiatives of a more general focus, the 3D Initiative Program is specifically designed to minimize your organizational exposure, by providing you with a "due diligence defence" before you actually need it (despite our hope that you never will!). Although we can't guarantee that it will prevent an incident from occurring, stave off future prosecutions, or result in not-guilty findings, it will provide you with tips and recommendations developed from our own experience in the area, that we believe will increase the likelihood of a successful due diligence defence.
Together, the 3D Assessment and 3D Initiative Program are designed to provide you with peace of mind, by putting you in a position where you can critically ask yourself "are we really doing everything we can", and then answer that question with a little more confidence.
They might not make you bulletproof, but they'll definitely thicken your armor.