A “Safety Standdown” is a pre-planned event where a company, organization, or group of people suspend normal operations for a given amount of time (a few hours, all day, etc.) to discuss safety issues. The idea is to bring the entire group together, including top management, to identify and remedy safety issues.
Safety Standdowns are frequently done in the military (an entire base or a single ship, etc.) but also are done in many high-risk industries and companies. For example, Bombardier in partnership with NBAA, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, will host the 16th Annual Safety Standdown USA, a non-commercial effort to improve business aviation safety, in October of this year. More information can be found at http://www.safetystanddown.com/. Continue reading

