Reviewing safety performance takes a ‘big picture’ overview of the patterns of evidence arising from all forms of monitoring, investigation, and audit to decide whether the overall approach, policies, resources, priorities, improvement targets, and the SMS remain relevant and appropriate in pursuing the safety vision and strategy and cultural development.
Taking from the “Five Themes for Excellence in Safety Management Systems (SMS)”, we can look at a facility’s management engagement level in the SMS through this lens of excellence and measure the maturity of the safety culture. To recap the progression, here are the five levels:
- Ad-Hoc
- Managed
- Standardized
- Predictable
- Excellence
Using an organization’s management engagement level in the SMS, we can see where they lie on the path to SMS Excellence.
AD-HOC – No or little understanding, at any level, of the importance of senior-level review to ensure that risk management objectives are delivered. Culture of believing that the Board of Directors (BOD) does not care about safety or safety risk management.
- There is no analysis of the findings of monitoring and audits by senior management
- Achievement of risk management objectives is not reviewed
- Management is not able to demonstrate that the SMS has delivered the intended objectives
- No effective application of management system standards relating to management review
- No effective review of objectives relating to collaborative working arrangements
MANAGED – Some understanding and support for the Board of Directors’ (BOD) role in setting and reviewing safety performance, but it is inconsistent
- Management reviews are carried out but do not always align with the organizational risk profile and strategies
- Reviews of the organization’s health and safety management system (SMS) are only undertaken at planned intervals
- Management reviews are limited to simple data such as outcomes and status of actions from previous management reviews
- Inconsistent application of standards to some reviews of some areas of the organization
STANDARDIZED – Good communications of outcomes from board reviews and actions arising leads to a culture where all believe that the organization cares about risk management and that individuals can and do contribute to it
- Management automatically uses findings from monitoring and audits to review the organization’s performance and make changes where necessary
- Reviews are also triggered following events in addition to planned cyclical reviews
- Recommendations from reviews are clearly allocated and tracked and show that the wider implications are considered to ensure continuing suitability, adequacy and effectiveness
- Management reviews are compliant with the relevant requirements of recognized management system standards and guidance
- Management reviews for collaborative working are compliant with the relevant requirements of recognized management system standards and guidance
PREDICTABLE – Widespread belief that management reviews result in changes that are effective in controlling H&S risks
- Management reviews systematically include learning lessons from events in other organizations and other industries
- There is a process to review lessons learned from other organizations, including reviewing the output from confidential reporting services
- Management reviews include measures of the outcome of changes
- Reviews of the outcomes of changes are compliant with the relevant requirements of recognized management system standards and guidance
- Changes resulting from collaborative working are included in board reviews of outcomes
EXCELLENCE – The organizational culture encourages suggestions for improvement and these routinely trigger management reviews
- Board of Director (BOD) reviews are carried out routinely as planned and result in suggestions for continuous improvement of risk management performance
- The BOD and senior management reviews bring about demonstrable continuous improvement and confirm the strategic direction or lead to changes.
- There is clear evidence that the outputs of management reviews are shared to improve processes or shape positive behaviors.
- Reviews are informed by corrective actions, monitoring and measuring results, audit results and consultation and participation of employees and, if appropriate trades unions
- Reviews are carried out collaboratively with other organizations, using shared evidence and strategies, and measures of good and bad performance with the purpose of continuous improvement
Source: Source: RM3, 2019 – The Risk Management Maturity Model (UK’s HSE)
