the precautionary principle: practical applications for real organizations dana e. cooley, president...

The Precautionary Principle:Practical Applications for Real Organizations

Dana E. Cooley, President

SeaState Group, Inc.

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 2

Decisionmaking

Wait for Proof of Harm

Be Precautionary

Tobacco

Asbestos

Tires

Accounting scandals

Handguns

Drugs

Nuclear Power

Fluorocarbons

Terrorism

Great Lakes Water Quality

SARS(?)

Toys

Dioxin

Lead (paint and gasoline)

Stone dust (silicosis)

(Poly)vinyl chloride

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 3

Quality

Conformance to Specification

Fitness for Use

Tobacco

Asbestos

Tires

Accounting scandals

Handguns

Drugs

Nuclear Power

Fluorocarbons

Terrorism

Great Lakes Water Quality

SARS(?)

Toys

Dioxin

Lead (paint and gasoline)

Stone dust (silicosis)

(Poly)vinyl chloride

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 4

NRC Reactor Oversight Findings0 20 40 60 80 100

Mitigating Systems

Initiating Events

Barrier Effectiveness

Physical Protection

Emergency Preparedness

Occupational Radiation Safety

Public Radiation Safety

Respond toFailures

ActPreemptively

August 1, 2003 Data

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 5

Standards for Everything from...

• Infant changing tables to vinyl chloride sampling...

• Soil toxicity to apparel flammability...• Dust cloud ignition to hockey player face

shields...• Chromate exposure to cigarette lighter safety...• Toy chests to slicing machines...• Emergency room triage to asbestos-cement...

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 6

Precautionary Principle

Communicating Quality to Executive Management

Integrating Quality with ESH

Quality of Information

Strategic Planning

ISO 14000 at Urban

Utility

Climate Change

Legal Pitfalls

Ethics

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 7

Wingspread Statement

• “When an activity raises threats of harm to the environment or human health, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.”

- January 1998

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 8

The Precautionary Principle in Action

Threat of Harm

PrecautionaryActions

ScientificUncertainty

Root Cause Analysis

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 9

Precautionary

Precausationary

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 10

UnacceptableConsequences

ContingencyResponse

AggravatingFactors

o Early Warning System

o Industry Awareness

o Past Experience

Made consequences worse than

they needed to be

Did not controlconsequences as

expected

Did not detector prevent

ProblemRelease

Produced

Com

bine

dw

ithC

ombi

ned

with

Fix-It-Once ®

SeaState Group, Inc.

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 11

• Identify possible threat.

• List knowns and unknowns.

• Reframe in “big picture” terms.

• Assess alternatives

• Choose course of action.

• Monitor and follow up.

Solving Problems

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 12

• “Transparency” of information.

• Inclusion of stakeholders.

• Willingness to act in the face of uncertainty.

• Accountability

All It Takes...

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 13

Bosun

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 14

Which dog “caused” Bosun?

DickendallArnold

T abatha'sValleyw ood

Decoy

T abatha's Drifterat Dickendall

Cam brem erT udor

M instrel

Allegheny'sCherry

Blossom

Allegheny'sCrystal

Caer BrenM r. Pickw ick

Sim erdow n'sW oodrow

Arosca'sSophisticated

Lady

T eracroft'sCPA

Scrim shawDucklessFairbank

PierhousePenny

W histle

W aterfootAutum n Breeze

W ebbfoot Steele 'sM agnolia

Bosun(Our Dog)

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 15

Growth - Good and Bad

0

70

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

0

70

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 190

70

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 16

Your Next Decision: Make It Precautionary

• Identify possible threat.

• List knowns and unknowns.

• Reframe in “big picture” terms.

• Assess alternatives

• Choose course of action.

• Monitor and follow up.

• “Transparent” information.

• Stakeholder inclusion.

• Courage to act in the face of uncertainty.

• Accountability

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 17

SeaState Group, Inc.Intensive Self-Assessment Fundamental Improvement

144 Dante’s Drive

Hockessin, DE 19707

Office - (302) 234-8188

E-mail - seastate@verizon.net

Website - www.fix-it-once.com

©2003 SeaState Group, Inc. 18