One of the finest men I ever worked for, Jim Krumholz, taught me this trick in 1999!

Manager MUST attend the "safety training" their employees attend! Even if this manager would never participate in an entry into PRCS, perform HW, or even participate in a lockout, they need to understand the expectations of their team members and how safety integrates with their team's daily activities.

They need to understand the REQUIREMENTS of these safety programs so that when they are out and about their Unit/Department and they come across these safety activities, they can IDENTIFY any deviations and INTERVENE at that moment (as this is their EXPECTATION).

Imagine a manager walking by unsafe act(s) and never recognizing the deviation; they just validated that hazardous act/condition and may have never intended to.
KNOWLEDGE is KEY to management owning safety, and it starts with them PARTICIPATING in the same training courses their team members attend and INTERACTING with their team in that training. This builds TRUST and CREDIBILITY and sends them an important signal that "SAFETY MATTERS."

So, if your management team does not participate in safety training, they cannot "own the safety process/SMS."