Management Commitment and Leadership

Top management concern about safety is the most important factor in discriminating between safe and unsafe companies matched on other variables [100]. This commitment must be genuine, not just a matter of sloganeering. Employees need to feel they will be supported if they show concern for safety. An Air Force study of system safety concluded  

Air Force top management support of system safety has not gone unnoticed by contractors. They now seem more than willing to include system safety tasks, not as window dressing but as a meaningful activity [70, pp. 5-11]. 

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Management commitment and leadership design and develop the policy statement. It should be signed by the top person in your company. Safety and health goals and objectives are also included to assist you with establishing workplace goals and objectives that demonstrate your company s commitment to safety. An enforcement policy is provided to outline disciplinary procedures for violations of your company s safety and health program. This enforcement policy should be communicated to everyone in the company. 

The safety and health program should contain the following to demonstrate management commitment and leadership ... 

In Figure 6-1, the keystone at the top of the arch represents management commitment and leadership, and the rest of the arch is the management program that must be integrated into the system. If the system does not work in the way it is intended, the system fails. Figure 6-2 shows the results of a management failure. 

Management sets the tone. Refer to Chapter 6 on management commitment and leadership. If management is not supportive of getting employees involved, and unless your employees believe you want their participation, getting them to participate will be difficult and may not be successful [4]. 

Let s approach the domino theory from the format of this book. Note that management commitment and leadership and employee participation are in the middle. If the domino falls in either direction think about what will happen to your system. When these dominos fall they equate to failure in the management system. So the bottom line is that they are fragile and must be handled with care, especially in a new system. Refer to Figure 12-9. 

You may not have the management commitment and leadership that are needed. Management has to say more than the words. They have to demonstrate their commitment to safety, as we have described throughout the book. 

Management commitment and leadership filters down from the top leadership through all levels of the organization. The leadership team provides the vision/mission and direction as well as adequate resources to ensure that controls are in place. 

Management commitment and leadership responsibility for safety. The responsibility for safety and the BBS process is led by management with a shared involvement from knowledgeable employees. All levels of the organization are involved in an effective BBS process. 

Can employees control their actions or does it take management commitment and leadership to provide the tools and resources necessary to perform the job safely ... 

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