(101c) Why Are the New People Making the Same Mistakes That the Old-Timers Made 25 Years Ago? Managing Organizational Change

History repeats itself. The same process safety incidents occur over and over. The same occupational safety incidents occur repeatedly.

Why? “Organizations have no memory” – Trevor Kletz. As the operating, maintenance, and personnel are promoted, retire, take vacation, are absent, OR job duties are reallocated, critical safety information and expertise is lost. The paper gives examples of memory loss and its consequences.

The right critical knowledge and skills must be available on site, all the time, when they are needed. The paper describes a straight-forward Management System to maintain the needed competency as the organization changes. The system is self-documenting and can easily be kept up-to-date. Examples are given from years of experience.