7 Guiding Principles of Integrated Safety Management System

The DOE Integrated SMS has seven (7) Guiding Principles as follows:

1. Line management responsibility for safety
   • LINE MANAGEMENT IS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE for protecting the workers, the public, and the environment.
2. Clear roles and responsibilities
   • CLEAR AND UNAMBIGUOUS LINES OF AUTHORITY and responsibility for ensuring safety are established and maintained at all organizational levels and its contractors.
3. Competence commensurate with responsibilities
   • Personnel possesses the
     • experience,
     • knowledge,
     • skills, and
     • abilities necessary to discharge their responsibilities
       
4. Balanced priorities
   • Resources are effectively allocated to address safety, programmatic, and operational considerations.
   • Protecting workers, the public, and the environment is prioritized whenever activities are planned and performed.
     
5. Identification of safety standards and requirements
   • Before work is performed, the associated hazards are evaluated, and an agreed-upon set of safety standards and requirements is established, which, if properly implemented, will provide adequate assurance that workers, the public, and the environment are protected from adverse consequences.
     
6. Hazard controls tailored to the work being performed
   • Administrative and engineered controls to prevent and mitigate hazards are tailored to the work being performed and associated hazards.
     
7. Operations authorization
   • The conditions and requirements to be satisfied for operations to be initiated and conducted are clearly established and agreed upon.

To continuously improve the safety culture, the following four supplemental safety culture elements are to be focused on in concert with the guiding principles to enhance the effective implementation of ISMS:

1. Individual attitude and responsibility for safety
   • Every worker accepts responsibility for safe mission performance. Individuals demonstrate a questioning attitude by:
     • Challenging assumptions,
     • Investigating anomalies, and
     • Considering potential adverse consequences of planned actions.
   • All workers are mindful of work conditions that may impact safety and assist each other in preventing unsafe acts or behaviors.
2. Operational excellence
   • Organizations achieve sustained, high levels of operational performance, encompassing all activities to meet safety, productivity, quality, environmental, and other objectives. High reliability is achieved through a focus on:
     • operations,
     • quality decision-making,
     • open communications,
     • deference to expertise, and
     • systematic approaches to eliminate or mitigate error-likely situations.
3. Oversight for performance assurance
   • Competent, robust, periodic, and independent oversight is integrated as an essential source of feedback, verifying that expectations are being met and opportunities for improvement are being identified.
   • Performance-assurance activities verify whether standards and requirements are being met.
   • Performance assurance through conscious, directed, and independent reviews at all levels bring fresh insights and observations to be considered for continuous safety and performance improvement.
4. Organizational learning for performance improvement
   • Organizations demonstrate excellence in:
     • performance monitoring,
     • problem analysis,
     • solution planning, and
     • solution implementation
   • Organizations encourage OPENNESS and TRUST and cultivate a continual LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.

Source: DOE