Safety Management System

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…...

If you think safety metrics is old fashion and leads to “manipulating behaviors”, go out to your car and disconnect your dashboard/pull fuses so that you get no analytical feedback data on how well you are staying within your safe operating envelope of yours and the car’s performance. Then tell me metrics are not needed…...

A movement within the safety community, primarily online banter, somehow finds fault with a WRITTEN safety management system (SMS).  There are even books published on the topic that are being pushed, decrying written programs as a bureaucratic waste of time, too controlling, no value added, etc.  I find this very sad, but they do have…...

I am sure we have all heard this reference about safety and common sense.  Unfortunately there are a lot of businesses with senior management that believe this.  I find even those businesses that struggle with minimum compliance requirements will typically have this mindset about safety.  But those businesses who are going beyond the traditional OSHA…...

I am aware of all the on-line chatter about the “bureaucracy” of a written safety and health program.  Although I do not subscribe to this way of thinking and I know of maybe two facilities that are mature enough to manage safety without a lot of the traditional documentation; this SMS documentation is WAY BEYOND…...

To some, there may not be much difference between leadership and management; however, there is a big difference between them…. Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log in here...