Safety Management System

Keep in mind the following was published in 1997 in Managing the risks of organizational accidents by James Reason.  And he was not the first to say it, but he may have been the best at explaining it!  Many organizations could make substantial improvements in their safety performance if they would just start measuring the…...

We all have one (1) common bias, psychologists call it the “fundamental attribution error.”   The fundamental attribution error is the tendency for people to over-emphasize dispositional or personality-based explanations for behaviors observed in others while under-emphasizing situational explanations.  And we have ALL DONE IT at some point in time after an accident.  In fact,…...

Many people talk as if a safety culture can only be achieved through some awesome transformation akin to a religious experience. We take the opposite view, arguing that a safety culture can be socially engineered by identifying and fabricating its essential components and then assembling them into a working whole. It is undoubtedly true that…...

An ideal culture of safety is the engine that continues to propel the safety management system towards the goal of maximum safety and health, regardless of the leadership’s personality or current commercial concerns. Such an ideal is hard to achieve in the real world, but it is nonetheless a goal worth striving for.  The power…...

Today I read in the news that a Police Chief of a metropolitan area announced his resignation amid a lot of turmoil in the city and within his Department.  And in the news story, I was taken back by the Metro Council President… “If the officers don’t feel in tune with their police chief, it…...

Independent, systematic audits check that risk-control systems and management arrangements within the Safety Management System (SMS) are effective.  An audit is an independent, systematic check of risk-control safeguards and the SMS to ensure business objectives are met. An audit can be an internal audit (first party, conducted by the organization) or an external audit (second…...

The first element is whether strategic plans and action plans integrate safety into all aspects of an organization’s activities. Are there measurable short, medium, and long-term safety objectives in these plans, and is there regular progress monitoring in implementing the plans? Monitoring progress by the senior management team is vital to good safety leadership. Regular…...

Over the past decade, we saw a huge swing away from safety being a technical field to one that is more hugs and kisses.  Last year, we even saw the number one organization for safety professionals change their name from Safety Engineers to Safety Professionals.  Along with the name change came a change to topics…...

This is a MUST READ for safety leaders.  It is scientific proof that CULTURE MATTERS to safety, and how we establish a culture of safety is with AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP (w/ empathy) and how this BUILDS TRUST in the organization – most importantly, how this builds trust with the workers who do the dirty and dangerous…...

Most practicing safety professionals in the USA have seen The Wizard of Oz.  This is an excellent movie, and it reminds me of our journey to achieve a safe workplace.  First … the Ruby Red slippers – many managers today state that “safety is #1”, that “our people are our #1 asset”, or “we do…...

This is a simple, linear cause-and-effect model where accidents are seen as the natural culmination of a series of events or circumstances that occur in a specific and recognizable order. The model is often represented by a chain with a weak link or a series of falling dominos. In this model, accidents are prevented by…...