Responsibility, Accountability and Authority
Three words that are often mixed up, what each one means, and why a role needs all three.
8 min
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Three different words
In health, safety and environment (HSE) work, you will hear three words again and again: responsibility, accountability and authority. People often use them as if they mean the same thing. They do not.
Responsibility means you must do a task. Accountability means you must answer for the result, even if someone else did the work. Authority means you have the power to make decisions and act, such as using money, giving instructions or stopping a job.
The three words
Two examples
Example 1: the forklift check. A forklift driver must check the forklift before each shift. The driver is responsible for the check. The warehouse supervisor is accountable: if checks are not done, the supervisor must answer for it. The supervisor also has authority to take a faulty forklift out of use.
Example 2: the fire alarm test. A maintenance technician tests the fire alarm every week. The facilities manager is accountable for the fire alarm working. If the technician is on leave and nobody does the test, the facilities manager must answer for the missed test.
Match the word to the example
Connect each word with the example that shows it.
- Responsibility
- Accountability
- Authority
A manager asks a technician to inspect ladders. The ladders are not inspected. Who is accountable?