SASKENERGY 2017-18 ANNUAL REPORT
Systemic Health and Safety There are new ways to interpret human behaviors that participate in the causes of accidents. A ‘systemic’ failure is when there is a failure of a specific system. More broadly, it is a failure by an organization to establish good health and safety systems. One belief is that a systemic failure should be found in relation to a single failure to carry out a risk assessment. A corporation requires a systemic approach to the management of health and safety in the workplace, as set out particularly within the requirement to conduct risk assessments under the Health and Safety of Work Regulations. An adequate risk assessment of all the risks to which employees and non-employees may be exposed must be carried out. The Corporation has identified and implemented appropriate steps to control the risks identified. The Corporation ensures that a safe system of work is established through providing appropriate training, instruction, information, supervision and monitoring. Decision Making Process Despite constant demands for change, the decision making process grows in importance since a corporation operates by people making decisions. The entire decision making process is dependent upon the right information being available to the right people at the right times. Managers plan, organize, staff, lead, and control teams by executing decisions. The effectiveness and quality of those decisions determine how successful a corporation will be. For making routine operational decisions, related to well known and well defined problems, standard operating procedures are applicable. This type of decision may be made by managers at lower organizational levels, immediate managers, and even non-managers. For adaptive decision making, referring to moderately unspecified problems and alternative solutions, analysis of critical points are pertinent. These decisions are mostly made by functional managers at the middle management level. For innovative or strategic decisions, referring to unusual and unspecified problems, decisions are made by managing authorities and managers at higher organizational levels. The Corporation has appropriate decentralization and great autonomy in decision making along with clearly defined tasks, controls, and accountability of each employee.
Emerging Strategic Business Landscape Inadequate assessment and response to the emerging strategic business landscape, including disruptive change, significant economic volatility, and stakeholder and customer expectations, can significantly affect the Corporation’s future success. Recent transformations in the natural gas business landscape present both uncertainties and opportunities that affect SaskEnergy’s short and long-term plans. If business conditions are not well understood, SaskEnergy risks making strategic investments in short-term initiatives that do not advance its long-term goals, and could harm financial performance. Through its strategic and business planning processes, the Corporation develops integrated strategies to mitigate business risks using information acquired through customer consultation, and relationships with industry associations. The Corporation’s strategic plans identify and evaluate emerging risks, advances in technology and changing customer expectations. Strategies now rely less on historical data and increasingly on strategic risk factors that may deter the Corporation from its ability to realize strategic objectives. Integrated Information Systems As SaskEnergy increasingly relies on integrated information systems to meet its business requirements, the reliability, security and effectiveness of those systems becomes more important. External threats such as phishing, whaling attempts, spam, and malware may disrupt the reliable operation of information systems. These threats are addressed through security processes and controls. Internally, the Corporation’s various information systems are becoming increasingly integrated, which increases the risk that a failure in one system could lead to a failure in another system and harm the Corporation’s ability to meet operational requirements. The Corporation mitigates this risk by applying an information technology project prioritization process and project management methodology for developing and integrating new systems. The Corporation also has up-to-date business continuity and disaster recovery plans for critical information technology operations processes.
38
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator