Growing up in the Process Safety world with OHSA’s PSM and EPA’s RMP standards, I thought everyone had a “Safety Management System.” In school, we learned about OSH Management Systems and all they could do for a business. However, when I started consulting in 2005, I realized that SMSs were elusive in industrial facilities. Even those who had one in writing rarely actually utilized it day-to-day. For the past 20 years, I have been helping organizations develop, implement, manage, and measure my “Safety Process,” which is a basic SMS focused on what many today call “SIF” (Serious Injuries and Fatalities), which, by the way, is the PSM/RMP model way of viewing risks.
There are many benefits to implementing Safety Management System (SMS), some of which include:
Strengthened safety culture—An organization’s safety culture can be strengthened by making management’s commitment visible and actively involving personnel in risk management. When management actively endorses safety as a business performance tool, it is typically well-received by personnel and becomes part of normal operations.
Documented, process-based approach to ASSURE safety—Establishes a clear and documented approach to achieving safe operations that is understandable by personnel and can be readily explained to others. In addition, clearly defining baseline performance allows controlled changes when continuously improving the safety program/system, thereby helping the organization optimize the resources required to implement change.
Better understanding of safety-related interfaces and relationships—Documenting and defining safety management interfaces can benefit the organization’s understanding of the interprocess relationships, leading to an enhanced understanding of the end-to-end process and exposing opportunities for increased efficiencies.
Enhanced early detection of safety hazards—Improves the State/organization’s ability to detect emerging safety issues, which can prevent accidents and incidents through the proactive identification of hazards and management of risks.
Safety data–driven decision–making – Improving the organization’s ability to gather safety data for safety analysis. With some strategic thinking to determine what questions need to be answered, the resulting safety information can aid decision-makers in near real-time in making better-informed, valid decisions. An important aspect of this decision-making is allocating resources to areas of more significant concern or need.
Enhanced COMMUNICATION of safety – Provides a common safety language throughout an organization. A standard safety language is a crucial enabler in developing a shared understanding of the organization’s safety goals and accomplishments. In particular, it provides an appreciation for the organization’s safety objectives and its safety performance indicators (SPIs) and safety performance targets (SPTs), which give the direction and motivation for safety. Personnel will be more aware of the organization’s performance and the progress being made toward achieving the defined safety objectives, as well as how they contribute to the organization’s success. The standard safety language enables organizations with multiple businesses to aggregate safety information across organizational entities. It is necessary to support the management of interfaces across the aviation system.
Evidence that safety is becoming a VALUE rather than a Priority—Demonstrates how management supports and enables safety, how risks are identified and managed, and how safety performance is continually improved, resulting in increased confidence in the workforce. This also results in personnel who are confident about the organization’s safety performance, which can lead to the increased attraction and retention of high-caliber staff.
Possible financial savings—Based on their SMS results, some organizations may qualify for a discount on their insurance premiums and/or a reduction to their workers’ compensation premiums.
Improved efficiencies – Possible reduction in the cost of operations by exposing inefficiencies in existing processes and systems. Integration with other internal or external management systems may save additional costs.
Cost avoidance – By proactively identifying hazards and risk management, the cost incurred due to accidents and incidents can be avoided. In such cases, direct costs may include injuries, property damage, equipment repairs, and schedule delays. Indirect costs may include legal action, loss of business and damaged reputation, surplus spares, tools, and training, increased insurance premiums, loss of staff productivity, equipment recovery and clean-up, loss of use of equipment leading to short-term replacement equipment, and internal investigations.
Source: SAFTENG Safety Process, created from FAA’s SMS