IT'S THE LEAST WE CAN DO

Many business-related regulations that exist today are the result of past failures by companies to do the minimum to protect their workers, the public, or the environment. The proliferation of process safety management regulations since the 1984 accident at Bhopal, India, and the widespread acceptance of Lord Cullen's far-reaching safety recommendations following investigations into the 1988 explosion of the offshore rig "Piper Alpha," are good examples of how regulations are spawned by disasters. Australia, Britain, Canada, the United States, and other countries now have laws that hold employees, supervisors, managers, executives, and directors of their companies liable for accidents that seriously injure or kill people. All these laws and regulations have one thing in common they were put in place after the fact. After mistakes were made and after lives were lost, regulators stepped in to protect the public or the workforce or the environment. These regulators, usually representatives of governments or government agencies, appeared on the scene because businesses were remiss in protecting people or the environment and were deemed not competent to regulate themselves. Today, most businesses complain about over-regulation, sometimes with good reason. The volumes of regulations we are asked to follow are almost impossible to digest, let alone adhere to. In some cases, regulators have probably gone too far and their noble intentions have...