Safety Management System

“Management’s responsibility for controlling the unsafe acts of employees exists chiefly because these unsafe acts occur in the course of employment that management creates and then directs. Management selects the persons upon whom it depends on carrying out industrial work. It may, if it so elects, choose persons who are experienced, capable of, and willing…...

H. W. Heinrich, Assistant Superintendent Engineering and Inspection Division of The Travelers Insurance Company, is known as the “Father of Industrial Safety.”  But today, there is a movement in the safety profession to denounce his work.  To me, this is just disrespectful; hell, most of us owe our professional safety careers to Heinrich.  The work…...

Every business needs to risk rank its businesses down to each process within each facility.  This “risk profiling” keeps safety matters and risks in perspective when you’re trying to manage a global operation.  This risk profiling MUST use accurate and verified data.  Lagging indicators can play a role, but they do not fully indicate risks…....

Who said the following, and what year was it said? “The prevention of accidents is a science, but it is not so recognized nor is it treated scientifically today. In our endeavors to solve other problems we proceed logically enough to find out what is wrong and then to make it right; but when it…...

“Several recent accidents in complex, high-risk technologies had their primary origins in a variety of delayed-action human failures committed long before an emergency state could be recognized. These disasters were due to the adverse conjunction of a large number of causal factors, each one necessary but singly insufficient to achieve the catastrophic outcome. Although the…...

Taking from the “Five Themes for Excellence in Safety Management Systems (SMS)”, we can look at a facility’s incident investigation process 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 incident investigation process, we…...

The significant ways of thinking and doing, which underpin a positive health and safety (H&S) culture suited to the organization, are identified and applied.  Culture is a lever that can assist the board and senior managers in improving company and safety performance. Setting out a culture strategy for H&S as part of a health and…...

Leadership research is pervasive in the organizational literature, and studies in mental health services suggest that leadership is essential for both the organizational process and consumer satisfaction and outcomes. Glisson and Durick found that higher levels of positive leadership in human service organizations were associated with higher levels of organizational commitment. Higher levels of positive…...

The following descriptions of excellence have been set for each of the main areas of an effective SMS: Health and safety policy and leadership Organizing for control and communication Securing cooperation, competence, and development of employees at all levels Planning and implementation of risk controls through co-ordinated management arrangements Monitoring, reviewing, and auditing to provide…...

A piece of safety to ponder over your weekend… Auditing is NEVER about the number of findings. We just experienced a facility with no PSM/RMP elements in place, and they have three (3) covered processes. With nothing to audit, they ended up with less than 25 findings (but they are massive findings that will take…...

Recently we worked with an organization that was struggling to control its risks around the use of ATVs and UTVs.  After several serious accidents involving these machines, we were asked to review their “Barriers,” “Controls,” and “Safeguards” in place to control the risks associated with these machines.  We found a program and training on the…...

Over my career, the most profound advancement in safety management was the recognition and shift away from lagging indicators (i.e., injury rates) to leading indicators within our safety management system (SMS).  But as this approach to safety metrics became more widespread, we have seen even leading indicators become a “number game” that gets manipulated as…...