Safety Management System

I post a lot about Human Factors (HF) and Human and Organizational Performance (HOP/HOF), and I get a lot of calls, emails, and texts every week asking more about these topics. But understand HF and HOP are simply approaches to managing safety and health.  They must never be viewed as a “silver bullet” to fix…...

I am sure we could debate this topic all day, but it is a topic that “I do not play well with others” on.  The idea is that if we shorten our written compliance programs or SMS elemental programs, it will cause more people to read them and use them more often.  I say hogwash…...

Every business will eventually reorganize work teams to meet the business’s needs.  Sometimes, this will involve laying off workers when previous growth decisions were over-estimated, or the economy pulls back, and demand for products falls.  Whatever the reason(s), every business will go through this regularly.  But for those businesses that tout “Safety is #1” or…...

I came across this healthcare research paper touting the value of using Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to improve patient safety, with an emphasis on LATENT ORGANIZATIONAL factors that play a role in accidents.  There were so many incredible tidbits in the paper that I have summarized them below.  Many of you reading this are NOT…...

An SMS forces an organization to examine its operations and the decisions around those operations. An SMS allows an organization to adapt to change, increasing complexity, and limited resources. An SMS promotes the continuous improvement of safety through specific methods to predict hazards from employee reports and data collection. Organizations will then use this information…...

Admiral Rickover is the Father of Nuclear Safety in the U.S. Navy.  He holds the Navy’s record for years of service, having served 60 years (1922 – 1982). He passed away 4 years later at the age of 86.  Admiral Rickover coveted the following “7 Rules” in developing, implementing, and managing his nuclear safety program…...

This is an excellent presentation by John S. Carroll, MIT Sloan School of Management at the NTSB Public Forum on Transportation Safety: Enhancing Safety Culture.  His presentation does an excellent job of explaining where the term “safety culture” originated and how organizations shape their culture of safety. CLICK HERE for the presentation… Membership Required You...

Earlier this year, I wrote about using the old ANSI/ASSE Z590.2-2003 (R2012) Criteria for Establishing the Scope and Functions of the Professional Safety Position standard when establishing the scope, function, role(s), and responsibilities of the organization’s safety professionals.  This older standard does an excellent job of keeping things simple and provides a nice framework from…...

“It is important to establish the difference between leadership, which is acquired, and authority, which is assigned. An optimal situation exists when the two are combined. Leadership involves teamwork, and the quality of a leader depends on the success of the leader’s relationship with the team. Leadership skills should be developed for all through proper…...