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To Cut Down Business Expenses, Cut Down Safety Expenses

Writer's picture: Raynold AtadjaRaynold Atadja

Updated: Jul 11, 2024

This may seem like a very incongruous statement, especially considering that I am a safety professional. However, the fact remains that expenses on safety in any production business eat a chunk out of the possible profit margin. So, it is only logical that safety should be cut down if the bottom line is at risk. This has been done by international conglomerates. It is nothing new.


Union Carbide cut costs on maintenance and training of its employees. ValuJet Airlines, a U.S. low-cost carrier, faced financial strain and allegations of improperly trained employees and deferred maintenance. It is very tempting to chop down the safety expenditure when the going gets tough.


A leak of methyl isocyanate gas from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India killed over 5,000 people and injured hundreds of thousands more due to the inadequate maintenance and training of employees. Union Carbide was forced to sell off many of its most familiar brands such as Glad Trashbags and Eveready Batteries to pay billions of dollars in compensation to the victims. It was eventually purchased by Dow Chemical in 1999.


In 1996, ValuJet Flight 592 crashed in the Everglades, killing all 110 people on board due to a fire caused by improperly repaired oxygen generators. The accident led to the airline's eventual merger with AirTran Airways.


So yes, you can cut down on business expenses by reducing the portion of the pie for safety. However, you need to understand that attempting to reduce business expenses by cutting down on allocations to safety can easily ensure that you will have zero business expenses in total!


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