Safety Management System (SMS) Concepts

Safety Management System (SMS)

• A comprehensive management system that provides a platform for the integration of safety program elements, including responsibilities, policies, individual procedures, and overall goals and objectives, with the end result being continuous improvement for the control of risks.

Goals of an SMS

• Provide a systematic approach for an organization to manage risk
• Identify risks and implement effective controls
• Serve as a continuous improvement process
• Provide an early means to determine when a process is noncompliant
• Provide areas of specific responsibilities

Components of an SMS

• Safety policy
• Safety risk management
• Safety assurance
• Safety promotion

Safety Policy

• An integral part of any SMS, demonstrating management's commitment to the safety program and to the SMS
• Includes a policy statement that communicates management's commitment and must include:
  • Management commitment statement
  • Purpose and benefits of the SMS
  • Method of monitoring safety performance
  • Commitment by management for financial and human resources to accomplish the goals
  • Clear employee expectations to participate in the system

Organizational Structure

• Includes an overview of the organizational structure that will be responsible for the SMS
• The safety manager of the organization should be at the head of the SMS organizational structure

Procedures

• Consist of multiple and widely varied procedures, such as training, lockout/tagout, and confined space
• Include procedures to comply with the requirements of the SMS, such as:
  • Record keeping
  • Record retention
  • Periodic and annual reviews
  • Management of change
  • Auditing procedures
  • Management of noncompliant areas

Safety Risk Management

• Provides a detailed guide to determining the need for, and adequacy of, new or revised risk controls based on the assessment of acceptable risk
• Includes a formal process within the SMS, such as:
  • Description of the system
  • Method and process for identifying hazards
  • Assessing the hazard or risk
  • Analyzing the risk
  • Controlling the risk by implementing corrective measures
  • Monitoring the risks and hazards to ensure that the corrective measures have been effective

Safety Assurance

• Provides for early detection of noncompliance issues, areas in need of improvement, and successes
• Includes:
  • Daily, weekly, and monthly reports (e.g., safety inspections, training)
  • Audits, inspections, and evaluations
  • Employee reporting
  • Data analysis
  • System assessments

Safety Promotion

• Establishes a solid safety culture through a well-prepared policy statement
• Includes:
  • Providing the required training within the SMS framework
  • Management advocating and demonstrating a positive safety culture
  • Good communication from both a top-down and bottom-up method
  • Establishing clear and concise goals and objectives
  • Sharing lessons and selecting a new problem or raising the bar on the existing one and repeating the cycle

Deming's 14 Points for Total Quality Management

• Create constancy of purpose for improving products and services
• Adopt the new philosophy
• Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality
• End the practice of awarding business on price alone
• Improve constantly and forever every process for planning, production, and service
• Institute training on the job
• Adopt and institute leadership
• Drive out fear
• Break down barriers between staff areas
• Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the workforce
• Eliminate numerical quotas for the workforce and numerical goals for management
• Remove barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship, and eliminate the annual rating or merit system
• Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement for everyone
• Put everybody in the company to work accomplishing the transformation

PDCA Model

• Plan: clearly identify and assess the problem, and develop a plan to correct or solve the problem
• Do: execute the plan to solve the problem
• Check: measure the results of the plan execution and validate or invalidate the solutions
• Act: standardize the solutions, remove containment, share lessons, and select a new problem or raise the bar on the existing one and repeat the cycle

Common Safety Management Systems

• OSHAS 18001:
  • Highly recognized SMS used in the United States
  • Developed in coordination with Spain, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and other European standards organizations
  • Includes elements such as general requirements, OH&S policy and commitment, planning, implementation and operation, checking and corrective action, and management review
• ILO-OSH 2001:
  • Developed by the International Labour Organization (ILO)
  • Focuses on determining both internal and external environments of a company and their customers
  • Includes elements such as policy, organizing, planning and implementation, evaluation, and action
• ANSI Z10:
  • Developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)
  • Includes elements such as management leadership and employee participation, planning, implementation and operation, evaluation and corrective action, and management review

Learn about Safety Management Systems (SMS) and how they differ from traditional safety programs. Understand the goals and benefits of an SMS and explore examples such as OSHAS 18001 and ILO-OSH.