Transitioning from Traditional Safety Programs

Introduction to Safety Systems Audit

• Industrial accidents are the result of multiple, interrelated factors, not just human error
• Humans are often the last point of failure, and changing individual behavior might only do so much to prevent accidents
• Addressing the organizational factors that cause accidents can greatly improve safety
• The term "organizational accident" emerged in the 1990s because of these factors
• Organizations must take action to address organizational issues in order to improve safety
• A systems approach to safety management is the most efficient way to make the workplace safe
• Safety management systems involve goal setting, planning, and measuring performance
• These systems are integrated into the organization
• A viable safety management system will allow an organization to anticipate and address safety issues before they cause incidents or accidents

Systems Approach to Management

• Based on system theories developed in the natural and social sciences
• General systems theories rely on four common elements: input, process, output, and feedback
• Systems can be open or closed
• Open systems interact with their environment and is subject to external influences, including legislation, public opinion, and the economy in health, safety and environment.
• Closed systems do not interact with the environment, limiting their ability to adapt to changing internal conditions
• Management systems are open systems that rely on input, process, output and feedback

Traditional Safety Programs

• Hazard communication, the use of personal protective equipment, equipment lockout/tagout, and other safety measures are often handled as entirely separate entities
• Each written program has its own unique training, recordkeeping, and inspection requirements
• Because traditional programs are separated, effort and coordination are often duplicated
• A "silo" effect also develops, keeping the safety/health sectors separate from other business functions
• The aim in a traditional safety program is compliance with standards and regulations
• There are few feedback mechanisms through which to adjust or iterate
• Workers are directed and controlled to meet specific company safety standards and regulations
• A program's performance is based on compliance with the system and trailing indicators, such as the number of accidents and injuries

Transitioning to Management Systems

• The 10 management obligations defined by Petersen in 1994 outline a way to leave traditional safety management behind
• Petersen's 10 management obligations emphasize the following measures:
• Progress no longer measured by injury ratios
• Safety is more than a program, it becomes it own system
• Statistical techniques drive the efforts of continuous improvement
• Renewed investigation of accidents and injuries
• Implementation of technical principles and tools for the statistical control of processes
• System improvement is emphasized
• Benefits are provided for people who discover illegal situations.
• Workers participate in addressing the problem, make decisions in a formalized process
• Well-being and ergonomics projected into the workplace.
• The traps within the system that lead to safety mishaps are eliminated

SMS Historical Perspective

• Prior to SMS, safety existed as three distinct but unmerged fields: system safety, human factors, and business management
• In the 21st century, the three parallel tracks converged: system safety, human factors, and business management.
• Safety integration would lead to a new era called safety management, where the vehicle for the operationalisation of safety management would be SMS

System safety

• During the 1960s, JF Kennedy sought to land a man on the moon and return him safely
• The existing "fly-fix-fly" strategy could not support Kennedy's dream
• System safety is an engineering discipline that incorporates safety into the technical system during its development
• System safety was a major contributor to realizing JFK's dream
• System safety is building safety into the system to cover the entire system life cycle, including manufacturing, testing, operations and maintenance
• System safety follows a four-step framework
  • Design for minimum risk by eliminating the safety concern (the hazard) through design
  • Incorporate safety devices that automatically prevents the safety concern from becoming a mishap
  • Provide warning devices that alert personnel to the safety concern in time to take remedial action
  • Develop procedures and training that the personnel will use in order to control the safety concern
• The conclusion from this perspective is two-fold:
  • System safety was originally conceived for the application and exclusively for the improvement of technical systems
  • Due to human error, human operators were considered a liability to safety

Human Factors

• During the 1970s, perceived diminishing returns on safety through design
• The study of human factors rose to prominence after World War II
• HF is concerned with optimizing the relationship between people and the operational environment by the systematic integration of human sciences and systems engineering
• A scientific approach optimizing human performance in operational contexts
• Four scientific disciplines converge into human factors:
• Ergonomics: human-centered design of displays and controls
• System Engineering: integration of system components, with operator needs generating homogeneous and functional entities
• Physiology: fatigue, stress, noise, temperature, pressure, vibration
• Psychology: social, organisational and cognitive psychology
• The conclusions to draw are:
  • Human Factors were conceived for application to and improvement of socio-technical systems. Human Factors incorporate people and technology to achieve system production goals
  • Human operators, and their use of organizational and cognitive psychology, considered an asset to safety

Business management

• Business management concepts appeared in USA aviation with the Aviation Deregulation Act 1978
• The industry was forced into soul-searching and re-evaluation of established safety dogma
• A paradigm shift of safety goalpost
• The industry sought to create and promote low accident/harm/severity events
• Important to note that business management led the safety community to explore ways to give sense to the safety dollar
• An organization may question if safety is its first priority, or if the safety return must be worth the safety investment

Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS)

• OHSMS can be defined as follows:
  • A set of interrelated or interacting elements to establish OHS policy and objective and to achieve those objectives” (ILO, 2001)
  • “A network of interrelated and dynamic policy, goals, responsibilities, programme, plans and procedure and standards, design to guide organisations to proactively and systematically identify and control workplace hazards and risk" (Duijam et al, 2008)
  • 'Part of the overall management system that facilitates the management of the OHS&E risks associated with the business of the organisation' (BSI)
  • “a business-like approach to safety - a systematic, explicit and comprehensive process for managing safety risks'.
  • 'The means by which an organisation controls risk through the management process'

Why Use SMS?

• Organizations committed to safety excellence achieve success through a strong SMS
• Benefits of SMS include long-term financial and cultural boons
• SMSs prevent injuries and property loss
• SMSs reduce costs, and support due diligence

Additional Benefits of SMS

• The ability to control the potential risks faced by the organization
• A clear and documented approach to achieving safe operations that can be explained to others
• Active involvement of staff in safety
• Demonstrable control for the authority, customers, and other stakeholders that an organisation's risks are under control
• A common language to establish safety objectives and targets, and implement and monitor safety risk controls
• Decreased insurance costs and improved reputation
• Building a positive safety culture
• Reduction/removal of operational efficiencies

Why Organizations Adopt SMS

• Moral obligation: a moral obligation for employers is implied for them to ensure work activities and workplaces are safe
• Regulatory compliance- The safe operation of work activities and workplaces is achieved through legislation requirements which are defined in just about every jurisdiction
• Cost reduction through effective safety management: Several studies demonstrate that safety management can reduce the financial effects of an accident on a business, both directly and indirectly
• Employee relations reflect management's concern for safety
  • Safe operations help build better employee relations while retaining the best employees
  • Safe operations increases workers' commitment

SMS Components

• Several frameworks/models for SMS already exist
  • BS ISO 45001:2018
  • HSG65
  • ILO-OSH: 2001
  • OHSAS 18001:2007 replaced by BS ISO 45001:2018
• All frameworks/models consist of 4 components and 12 elements
• OHSMS models include the BS ISO 45001:2018

Key Elements of Health and Safety Policies

• Three sections (elements) of the H&S policy manual include
  • Policy Statement of intent
  • Organization of Health and safety
  • Arrangements for Health and safety

Policy Statement of Intent

• Often referred to as the health and safety policy statement or simply as the health and safety policy
• Should contain the aims and goals of the company.
• Aims will probably remain unchanged during policy revisions
• Objectives will be reviewed and modified or changed each year
• Components include:
  • Written in clear and simple language
  • Easy to understand
  • Broken down into smaller components
  • Is signed and dated by a senior person
  • Is put on a notice board
  • Communicated to all workers
• Considers
  • The coverage of aims in health, safety, welfare, and relevant environmental issues.
  • The names of the health and safety advisor and any safety reps' duties toward others
  • Specific policies of the organization
  • The position of a senior person who is responsible for health and safety
  • The principal hazards
  • A commitment to employee consultation potentially via plant council or via a safety committee.
  • Performance targets for the immediate and long-term future

Performance Targets in Health and Safety

• Performance targets important because
  • They indicate the company's commitment to health and safety
  • They motivate workers with specific targets.
  • They provide evidence during a monitoring, review, or audit phases of the management system.
• Examples of H&S performance targets
  • A specific reduction in accidents, incidents and work-related ill-health
  • An increase in reporting of minor accidents
  • Reduced level of sickness absence
  • A reduction in the number of civil claims.
  • A large amount of employees trained in health and safety.
  • No notices of regulatory authorities issued.
  • An internationally recognized health and safety standard like ISO 45001 achieved.

Organization for Health and Safety

• Defines the names, positions and duties of organizational members with H&S responsibility like:
  • Directors and senior managers are responsible for setting policy, objectives and targets
  • Supervisors are responsible for checking day-to-day enforcement with the policy
  • Safety advisors are responsible for giving advice during investigations and compliance.
  • Workers are responsible for taking reasonable care of the health of themselves and others.
  • Fire officers/wardens/marshals are responsible for the safe evacuation of a building in an emergency.
  • First aiders are responsible for giving first aid to injured persons

Key Functions

• Key functions like accident investigations, health and safety, health surveillance, environment equipment or external agencies must be defined.
• Internal and external agencies have important functions
• Management committees are important to monitor and fix issues that will affect employees

Arrangements for Health and Safety

• Details specific systems and procedures used to enforce the policy statement.
• States both safety equipment and proper procedure when doing repairs
• Includes procedures for emergencies or safety violations

Common Components

• Health and safety policy includes:
• Employee H&S code of practice
• Accident and illness reporting procedures
• Investigation procedures
• emergency procedures and first aid
• A control of exposure to specific hazards
• machinery construction.
• proper electrical practices
• Properly maintained equipment
• Health and safety policy includes: -Permits to work. -Proper personal protective equipment. -proper training
• proper catering and food hygiene

SMS Risk Management

• Proactive risk management reduces process, tools, activity and hazards during operation

Safety Assurance

• Safety processes and activities are undertaken to determine if the SMS is operating as expected
• Helps monitor inside the SMS and also at the external environment to identify changes in risk.

Safety promotion

• Training and safety education are critical
• Important to have proper safety communication protocols in place

Practical Implementation of SMS

• All processes and activities should consider the establishment of a safety management framework
• Responsibility is key
• Every position at a company has responsibilities to consider, including the employee, supervisor, and manager
• Policy informs processes and actions
• Start with basic plan, then assign resources and evaluate the risks.

Step A planning

• Establishing a basic plan and also assigning the responsibilities
• Finding executive
• Establish SMS team.
• Define area of SMS
• Perform gap analysis to identify strengths and weakness
• Safety Policy,SMS and procedures

Safety Risk Mangements

• The process should be clearly identified, assessed and properly monitored

SMS Training Program and Data

• Must maintain data on the employees skill levels, and also maintain equipment history to keep a SMS current

Hazard Identification and Mitigation

• Critical step to determine safety. And develop proper steps.

Management Change

• Identify then control the level change for safety improvements

incident, reporting and ivnestigation

• Root Cause Analysis
• Act on recommended repairs
• Trend monitoring

Steps for Investgation

• Determine legal liabilities before beginning investigation.

Safe working practices

• Understand the hazards and proper reactions
• Train workers
• Proper communications

Facts Collection

• Consider the Environment in which the accident occurred

Emergency Actions and Coordination

• Quick and effective action reduces the accident risk
• Training and competency will help reduce risk
• Emergency plans includes risk to public and how to assist

Safety Actions

• Call emergency
• Have equipment shut off
• Have proper training

Equipment and Procedure

• Must maintain and secure procedures

The Goals of an SMS

• To know what the environment is while safety actions take place

Safety Achievements

• Proper safety standards can be completed if safety assurance has been given

The goal of proper safety standard

• It allows the environment and worker to have best safe setting

Safety Triggers

• Identify areas like performance standards
• Safety surveys so standards can improve, while monitoring

SMS Audit

• An independent assessment to understand if safety has been taken under consideration

SMS and Operations

• An independent assessment to ensure the SMS functions properly

Explore the shift from traditional safety programs to systems-based approaches. Understand the key differences, performance evaluation methods, and integration with organizational functions. Learn how progress is measured and the emphasis on worker participation.