With the latest news of the Appeals Court case that could cause 50 years of OSHA standards to be unwound, the UK’s HSE weekly newsletter reminds us of how safety should be managed. OSHA’s old compliance model has run its course. I am NOT advocating we do away with OSHA standards, as I believe they have their role in society. But for most employers, we have to move beyond the old “what does OSHA require” if we have any hopes of putting a dent in the ≈ 5,000 annual workplace deaths and the ≈ 10,000 amputations. The answer, in my opinion, is that OSHA needs to finally adopt its Injury Illness Prevention Plan (I2P2) approach, as well as move more standards to the “performance-oriented” approach much like how the PSM standard functions (e.g., a 14-element SMS with the adoption of consensus standards to manage risks).
But this week, the UK’s HSE reminded us of their approach. It is not perfect, but it follows the Plan, Do, Check, Act approach:
- PLAN what you need to do
- DO the right things to implement your plan
- CHECK your control measures
- ACT if your measures are not working
This helps employers:
- find out where improvements are necessary
- take action quickly to keep workers and others safe
- repeat the process to review the SMS continually
A formal management system or framework can help you manage health and safety, but it is your decision whether to use one or not.
The approaches may vary, but the key actions can usually be traced back to Plan, Do, Check, Act.
Source: https://www.hse.gov.uk/managing/index.htm
