Thank you Denti for such a well written and informative reply.
I like the idea of the committee, especially whereby reaching a unanimous decision is required. In my area this is more of a local manager thing. I.e. once an investigation of an incident is completed, any violation is picked out by the individuals manager and a local decision made on whether discipliniary action is required. The massive issue we have is the huge inconsistencies around one managers opinion on what consitutes a true violation against anothers. Even when using a typical James Reason style culpability chart, its amazing how individuals can end with differing outcomes. These vary from informal counselling to written warning or even dismissal.
These decisions should never be taken lightly and the consistent approach of a committee would definately help this. It's amazing how many presidents have been set over the years by managers who have absolutely no idea around the difference between errors and violations. Even when a violation is culture based (influenced by the organisation),they have no idea how to deal with this.
What part of the world are you reporting from - it obviously makes a huge difference.
Thanks.