STANDARDS INSIDER

INTEGRATING OSH INTO

THE BUSINESS STRATEGY
By Joe Wolfsberger and Tom Reeves
To implement an occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) it is critical
to understand the business strategy and align with it. Defining how an OHSMS can support
an organization’s strategic objectives is a powerful way to gain management support.
One reason strategies are so important is that the in ANSI/ASSP Z10. It is important to go beyond Joe
world is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and the argument of cost avoidance related to incident Wolfsberger
ambiguous (VUCA). OSH professionals bridging the reduction and to focus on the ways that integrating Joe Wolfsberger, M.S.,
plan-do-check-act (PDCA) and VUCA communica- OSH into the organization’s overall strategy will add CSP, CIH, is a princi-
tion gap is critical to the implementation and effec- value and create a competitive advantage. pal at Sustainability
tiveness of an OHSMS. The set of considerations known as environ- Systems Solutions
An article by the first author published in the mental, social and governance (ESG) issues can be and a senior advisor
April 2023 issue of Professional Safety (pp. 30-34), an important element of any business but must be at FDRSafety. He has
viewed through the lens of value creation for the held vice president
discusses the importance of integrating OSH into
roles at various global
the business and why it is a good idea (Wolfsberger company. Everyone should see the value in protect- corporations, as well
& Zigulis, 2023). That article also presents examples ing the environment, protecting people and operat- as industrial hygiene
of companies that had successfully brought OSH ing ethically based on the intrinsic value, but these positions and aca-
and operational excellence actions can also strengthen demic posts. He is a
together to strengthen their It is critical that the the overall business strategy. member of the ANSI/
management systems. The Including the elements of ESG ASSP Z10, Z244.1, and
present article is focused on safety professional that make business sense into B11 standard devel-
opment committees.
why it is important to inte-
grate OSH into the overall demonstrates the value the organization’s strategy
can help to improve produc- Wolfsberger is a pro-
fessional member of
strategy of the organization. of OSH integration to tion and manage innovation.
Moreover, it can help to create
ASSP’s Western Caroli-
It discusses how to deal with a na Chapter.
volatile and uncertain business business leaders. a culture that attracts, retains,
environment and provides and promotes top talent, sat- Tom Reeves
examples of how some companies have achieved this isfies the expectations of stakeholders, and offers Tom Reeves, M.S.,
integration in a VUCA environment. a competitive advantage. But while pursuing the CSP, CCPEC, is CEO
For many years the OSH profession has pro- applicable elements of ESG has value, pursuing an of Engaged Change
Solutions. He has
claimed that it must be integrated into the business. ESG “score” may or may not be valuable to an orga-
authored textbook
What does this actually mean and how is it practi- nization. If the score provides access to financing chapters and serves
cally applied? On Aug. 22, 2019, ANSI approved a not otherwise available, gains customers or provides on the ANSI/ASSP Z10
new revised version of the ANSI/ASSP Z10 standard some other benefit, it can make sense to pursue it. In standard development
(ANSI/ASSP Z10.0-2019, Occupational Health and short, helping business leaders see the value to cor- committee. Reeves is
Safety Management Systems). The latest version of porate performance by providing a safe and healthy a member of ASSP’s
the ANSI/ASSP Z10 standard includes specific re- workplace for employees and recognizing the bene- Central Ohio Chapter
quirements for integrating OSH into the operation fits OSH can add to the bottom line. and a member of the
of the business as well as examples in the notes to This article discusses successful real-world exam- Society’s Consultants
help with the process. As part of the 2019 revision, ples of how OHSMS elements have been integrated Practice Specialty.
an implementation guide was developed to assist in into business strategies, providing a useful road map
implementing the standard. A revised implementa- for the OSH professional. This includes examples
tion guide is planned to include a chapter on inte- of where OSH has been successfully integrated with
grating OSH into the business. This article explores the three levels of business strategy.
some elements of that chapter.
To integrate OSH into the strategy of the orga- Strategy Factors in OHSMS Business Integration
nization, the value of people and their safety and Overview of Strategy
health must be communicated to business leaders. When designing and implementing management
Generally, most business leaders, including top systems, consider how the management system in-
management (e.g., board of directors, C-suite, tegrates and aligns with the organization’s strategy.
operations directors), managers, supervisors, and This section of the article offers a brief overview
foremen, believe and will say that OSH is a high of business strategy, intended to help users of the
priority but may question the value of including it ANSI/ASSP Z10 standard understand the concept of
in the overall strategy, thinking that it is an add-on and factors related to strategy and to encourage fur-
to those processes. It is critical that the safety pro- ther exploration of their own organization’s strategy.
fessional demonstrates the value of OSH integration The term strategy is derived from an ancient Greek
to business leaders, referred to as top management word that roughly translates to “general’s wisdom,” as

assp.org JANUARY 2024 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY PSJ 31

STANDARDS INSIDER

the concept of strategy evolved from the need to fight PDCA & VUCA
and win wars. The modern definition of strategy as it VUCA is a concept developed by the U.S. military
applies in a business context encompasses how an orga- to describe the world. Senior leaders and executives
nization wins. In a for-profit enterprise, winning might are constantly challenged to navigate and help their
mean gaining customers and generating profits. Such organizations succeed in a VUCA world. Consider
an organization may also consider its social and envi- the opportunities and challenges created by such
ronmental responsibilities as part of winning. A not-for- factors as globalization, interconnected markets,
profit organization may have a specific impact it wants technological advances, complex supply changes
to achieve, such as finding a cure to a disease or meeting and, most recently, a global pandemic.
the needs of a disadvantaged group. While plans are OSH professionals often advance through their
often created as a result of the strategy development pro- careers in a PDCA world. All management systems
cess, a plan is not the same thing as a strategy. Strategy is are rooted in the concept of PDCA. Yet, most senior
a process that organizations use to identify their critical leaders and executives navigate a VUCA world.
point of focus and to win in the areas where it competes. Consider how the language of PDCA might be dif-
Essentially, the strategist identifies that critical, decisive ferent from the language of VUCA.
point of focus and conentrates all efforts upon it. Depending on an organization’s size and com-
Strategy is also a necessary organizational re- plexity, the need for OSH professionals to bridge the
sponse to the reality of limited resources and the PDCA-VUCA communication gap may be critical to
existence of competition. It is about making choices OHSMS implementation and effectiveness (Figure
to focus scarce resources on the few things that mat- 2). Identifying ways an OHSMS may help an orga-
ter most. Strategy must answer such questions as: nization successfully navigate a VUCA world is a
•Where will the organization compete and what is critical component of business integration.
our objective?
•How will the organization win the competition Example: Showing How OHSMS Can Be a
for creating value? Competitive Advantage in a VUCA World
•What will be the organization’s key priorities? An industrial construction company focused on
The key to success in strategy is a learning-based steel fabrication and erection performs work in sev-
process for creating and adapting the strategies to an eral states and has gained a reputation as a contrac-
ever-changing environment (Figure 1). Whether an or- tor that is safe, on time, on budget and easy to do
ganization is large or small, private or public, for-profit business with. The company’s revenue growth over
or not-for-profit, a strategy is necessary for winning. the past 5 years has allowed it to increase capacity
with new equipment, upgraded construction man-
FIGURE 1
agement systems and additional staff. The culture
SIMPLE-COMPLICATED- values input from all workers and has a history of
CHAOS-COMPLEX MATRIX being a good place to work.
The safety and health director of this small yet
This matrix is used to help determine approaches by com- quickly growing company has been in the position
paring events that have more predictability or less, and a for most of the 5 years of growth. The director has
high or low number of variables. helped the company significantly improve safety
and health performance. This began with teaching
frontline leaders how to properly perform incident
investigations and root-cause analyses. The focus
soon shifted to jobsite leaders performing job haz-
More variables

ard analyses (JSAs) to be more proactive. Emphasis

Complex Complicated was placed on both the technical part of the JHA
as well as connecting to why each employee works
safely. Over time, the culture shifted from enforc-
ing safety and health rules to embracing safety and
Less predictable More predictable
health as a value.
Because the company was known for being safe,
Fewer variables

on time, on budget and easy to work with, several

area general contractors regularly encouraged this
Chaos Simple construction company to bid on jobs of increas-
ing size and complexity. The company bid on and
successfully won contracts for many of these jobs.
It developed the capability to handle increasingly
more complicated work. The growth challenged the
Note. Reprinted from “Strategy Factors in OHSMS Business team, but the team continually rose to the challenge,
Integration,” by T. Reeves, July 6 2023, Engaged Change making complicated work predictable.
Solutions blog, https://bit.ly/48rcNSI. Copyright 2023 Then the pandemic hit. Creating chaos at first,
Engaged Change Solutions. Reprinted with permission. the pandemic shut down some projects. Others were
deemed essential, and work continued. It was difficult

32 PSJ PROFESSIONAL SAFETY JANUARY 2024 assp.org

 FIGURE 2
PDCA & VUCA
Adapting the plan-do-check-act cycle into an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and am-
biguous world is critical to OSH and business integration.

for the company to keep people working SIMPLE COMPLICATED COMPLEX CHAOS
while maintaining a healthy cash flow. The More predictable
and fewer variables
More predictable
and more variables
Less predictable
and more variables
Less predictable
and fewer variables
future was unpredictable, but the company
focused on being safe, planning for sched-
ule and budget, and continuing to be easy PLAN Plan Plan Probe Unplanned
to work with. Like many, the safety direc-
tor quickly became an expert on biological
hazards and hazard controls. Within a few DO Do Do Do Rapid response
months, the chaos became more routine.
Mitigation efforts were more predictable,
essential projects continued and nonessen-
CHECK Confirm Analyze Sense Assess
tial projects were delayed. This became a
new normal.
Just as the firm began to emerge from
the chaos, within the 200-mile radius ACT Act Act Respond Rapid response
around its location, $40 billion dollars in
industrial construction projects were an-
Note. Reprinted from “Strategy Factors in OHSMS Business Integration,” by T. Reeves, July 6 2023,
nounced over the course of 4 months. That Engaged Change Solutions blog, https://bit.ly/48rcNSI. Copyright 2023 Engaged Change Solutions.
level of construction was unprecedented in Reprinted with permission.
the area, and everyone on the team scram-
bled. The companies coming to the area
were big and sophisticated. These owner-companies challenges of the pandemic. The software would
hired some of the country’s largest general contrac- give site leaders and safety professionals immediate
tors. These general contractors spent a lot of time as- access to processes such as JHAs, management of
sessing contractors in the area and consistently heard change, site safety plans, emergency action plans,
of the construction company’s reputation. permits, training, inspections, audits, incident
All the general contractors asked the construction investigation, root-cause analysis and corrective
firm to bid on their projects. The firm was invited to action. It required little information technology
“buy day”—the day the general contractor decides support and integrated with the construction man-
who wins the bid—on almost every project in the agement software platforms that the general con-
area. But this construction company had not worked tractors used.
for large general contractors before, nor had it The software provided a big opportunity to en-
worked on projects with such sophisticated owners. gage site leaders and safety professionals while they
The firm’s president informed the safety director had time available. A small team was assembled
that the company had been invited to another buy for each process to implement the software and
day, bringing the total to four, giving the company an the OHSMS. Each team mapped out the existing
opportunity for four projects that were bigger than processes, then determined what the new processes
any it had done before. The president was excited should look like. Each team presented to the others
about the opportunity but had concerns. It was great for their feedback.
for the team and for the company, and the company The safety director outlined the entire OHSMS
could certainly perform the work. But winning all structure for the buy-day presentations so that the
four projects would test the company’s systems. All general contractors understood the system. The
the general contractors included elements of safety software got the OHSMS process to the teams in the
programs in their bid packages and expected things field and the safety professionals and leaders to im-
to be done differently. The president needed to under- prove existing processes, building ownership for the
stand the new requirements and was relying on the program. The software integrated with the systems
safety director to provide guidance. used by all four projects’ planning software and paid
Upon review, the safety director recognized that for itself with winning just one bid. More impor-
the requirements addressed elements the team had tantly, it was a cornerstone of the new OHSMS and
wanted to implement for years but never felt the orga- supported the business strategic objectives.
nization was ready. The general contractors were ask- Three Levels of Strategy
ing for the company not only to work safely but also There are three levels of business strategy: cor-
to demonstrate great safety and health performance porate (or enterprise) strategy, market strategy and
and compliance to standards. The general contractors functional strategy. Depending on the size and com-
were also asking, albeit in different ways, for an effec- plexity of an organization, it may have strategies at
tive OHSMS. If the company could not demonstrate all three levels or only two.
the existence of such a system, there was a high prob-
ability it would not be awarded the bids. Corporate Strategy
The safety director considered purchasing Larger, complex organizations often have a corpo-
software to allow access to OHSMS processes on rate-level strategy that may include:
mobile devices in the field, which had previously •portfolio of businesses and identification of dif-
been deemed too expensive due to the financial ferent markets where the organization competes,

assp.org JANUARY 2024 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY PSJ 33

STANDARDS INSIDER

•allocation of financial publications to make employees aware of the com-

resources, pany’s efforts around ESG.
•securing investment, and
•sustainability through ESG Strategy Considerations in Business Integration
responsibilities. OSH is a subset of an organization’s functional
strategy, and this is the level at which business inte-
Corporate Strategy Example gration will most likely need to be considered. How-
A company incorporates ever, corporate- and market-level strategies may also
ESG principles into its busi- impact OSH. For instance, if a corporation makes
ness strategy to attract socially human capital and sustainability a critical component
responsible investors and of the corporate-level strategy (increasingly a require-
pension fund investors, and to ment from the investment community), the OHSMS
An gain access to financial resources. Some banks and will be a critical system in executing that strategy. In
investors use an ESG score to evaluate companies a market strategy, changes in product or service offer-
organization for lending and investing. In this case, the company ings may greatly impact the OSH business function.
was able to secure funding and investment that it For instance, a maker of complex, highly auto-
can ask would otherwise not have access to. mated conveyor systems may choose to expand its
many offering to include customer location-based service
Market Strategy technicians as an alternative to customers using
questions to Market strategy defines: their own maintenance personnel. While this ad-
•how an organization will compete and win cus- ditional offering may make sense commercially,
help align tomers (or donors for a not-for-profit organization) embedding service technicians within customers’
OSH with within a specific market, and operations may introduce new risk and additional
•what benefits, products and services the organi- hazards to these workers. It is critical that the OSH
its business zation will offer in the market that will create value. function be connected to the organization’s strategy
so that risk can be identified early and mitigated
strategy. Market Strategy Example effectively utilizing the OHSMS. In fact, a highly
Recognizing the intrinsic value, a manufactur- integrated OHSMS that is aligned with the orga-
ing company began to integrate the sustainability nization’s strategies can even create a competitive
concept into its operating system. The company’s advantage for the organization while reducing risk
successes increased, along with the recognition it to worker safety and health.
received from nongovernment organizations and Within the organization’s functional strategy,
its customer base. Many of the company’s products consideration should be given to how the OHSMS
supported the overall sustainability efforts of its affects and is affected by organizational factors. Or-
customers, making it a preferred supplier. As its ganizational factors may include:
reputation grew and sales increased, the company •The organization’s mission and values.
recognized the value of operating sustainably and •The organization’s culture: Consideration should
created a new division to focus on products and ser- be given to both the organization’s espoused culture
vices that supported customers’ efforts to protect the (what the organization claims its culture is) and the
environment and employees. The firm developed a culture in use (what the culture actually is). Risk can
new marketing strategy to address this new avenue be amplified or reduced by an organization’s culture.
of product sales. •People and their capabilities: What skills and
abilities exist within the organization, where their
Functional Strategy gaps lie, and the impact that leadership and manage-
While the first two levels of strategy focus on fac- ment may have on risk.
tors external to the organization, functional strategy •Processes and structures: Other systems that ex-
focuses on winning within the organization. Func- ist in the organization (e.g., human resources man-
tional strategy may focus on: agement, environmental and quality management
•internal factors that enable market strategies, systems, enterprise resource planning systems) and
•engaging workers, and how the OHSMS integrates within these processes.
•organizational change initiatives.
Measurements & Accountabilities
Functional Strategy Example What is the organization measuring to deter-
PEOPLEIMAGES/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS

One company recognized the value of sustain- mine performance? What are workers and leaders
ability, including OSH, and began to leverage the accountable for producing? How do these measure-
successes for other disciplines within the organi- ments and accountabilities impact the OHSMS?
zation. Working with human resources, the com- To support effective business integration, it
pany incorporated sustainability into the human is critical that the OHSMS be aligned with and
resources functional strategy for attracting and connected to the organization’s multilevel strate-
retaining top talent. The head of environment, gies. OSH professionals and other users can serve
health and safety became a frequent participant both the strategic needs of the organization and
in campus recruiting, and communication re- reduce risk to workers by advocating for strategy
lated to this function was included in company integration and for OSH needs to be considered in

34 PSJ PROFESSIONAL SAFETY JANUARY 2024 assp.org

all aspects of strategy development. OSH profes- •How might the OHSMS impact or be impacted
sionals and other users of the Z10 standard should by the development of people and their capabilities?
familiarize themselves with how their organization d. Culture
develops and executes strategies and study business •How does the organization define its espoused
strategy more deeply as they implement and man- culture?
age the organization’s OHSMS. As a help in this •How might the culture in use differ from the
process, the implementation guide includes a tools espoused culture?
section with sample questions. •What risk might the culture amplify or mitigate?
An organization can ask many questions to help •How might the culture impact or be impacted by
align OSH with its business strategy. The following the OHSMS?
section outlines a series of questions that can be 4. Insights
considered when evaluating the alignment of OSH a. Using this analysis, consider critical areas of
with the three levels of strategy. business integration within the strategy factors of
the organization.
Sample Questions for Aligning OSH b. What factors may aid business integration with
With the Organization’s Strategy the organization’s strategy?
1. Corporate strategy c. What factors may inhibit business integration
a. What are your organization’s corporate-level with the organization’s strategy?
strategies:
•for the portfolio of business and markets where Conclusion
the organization chooses to compete? As you begin the journey to implement an
•in allocating capital? OHSMS, it is critical to align with the overall busi-
•for engaging investors and securing investment? ness strategy. Understanding what is important
•for ESG and sustainability considerations? to the organization’s strategy can help to align the
b. How might corporate strategies impact the desired outcomes of OSH with those of the business.
OHSMS? Knowing the language of business can facilitate
2. Market strategy OSH getting a seat at the table when decisions are
a. In your division or unit of the organization, made and priorities are set. Finding opportunities
how is the organization: that support the strategic direction of the organi-
•competing to win customers or donors? zation allows OSH to become a critical business
•offering value to the market through products, partner. Identifying areas where there are common
services or solutions? business tools will strengthen the relationships
b. What drives the organization’s financial success between OSH and other disciplines within the busi-
in the marketplace? ness and expand the ownership for OSH throughout
c. How might market strategies impact the the entire organization. PSJ
OHSMS?
d. What changes to market strategies might im- References
pact or be impacted by the OHSMS? ANSI/ASSP. (2022). Safety and health metrics and per-
e. How might the OHSMS help create or support formance measures (ANSI/ASSP Z16.1-2022).
competitive advantage for the organization? ASSP. (2002, June 8). The return on investment for safety,
3. Functional strategy health and environmental (OSH) management programs
a. Measurements and accountability: [White paper]. www.assp.org/docs/default-source/stan-
•What are leaders and workers in the organization dards-documents/assp-ohsms-roi_2020-version.pdf
International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
accountable for?
(2015a). Environmental management systems—Require-
•What measurements does the organization use ments with guidance for use (ISO 14001:2015). www.iso
to determine performance in all aspects of the .org/standard/60857.html
business? ISO. (2015b). Quality management systems (ISO
•How might the measurements and accountabili- 9001:2015). www.iso.org/standard/62085.html
ties impact or be impacted by the OHSMS? ISO. (2018). Occupational health and safety manage-
b. Processes and structures ment systems—Requirements with guidance for use (ISO
•What other processes and systems impact or may 45001:2018). www.iso.org/standard/63787.html
be impacted by the OHSMS? Reeves, T. (2023, July 6). Strategy factors in OHSMS
•How is the organization structured with regard business integration. Engaged Change Solutions blog.
https://bit.ly/48rcNSI
to business units? Leadership and personnel? Wolfsberger, J. & Zigulis, G.G. (2023, April). Integrating
•How might the other processes and the orga- OSH into the business. Professional Safety, 68(4), 30-34.
nization’s structures impact or be impacted by the
OHSMS?
c. People and capabilities:
This article incorporates content from an article origi-
•What knowledge, skills and abilities are critical nally published by Engaged Change Solutions (https://
to the success of the organization? engagedchangesolutions.com). Copyright 2023 Engaged
•How have people developed within the Change Solutions. Reprinted with permission.
organization?

assp.org JANUARY 2024 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY PSJ 35