Safety management system accountability

Accountability is the obligation to answer for one s performance with respect to expectations, goals, and objectives. It is an important element of an effective process safety management system. To improve safety, the risk associated with human errors must be reduced. The work situation is the predominant cause of human errors and management has control over the work situation. 

Both internal and external metrics are valuable. Internal metrics provide information to those throughout the organization with the information needed to evaluate the progress and effectiveness of the process safety management system. External metrics allow outside stakeholders to evaluate the organization s performance and to hold those within the organization accountable for unacceptable performance, (See Chapter 7 for a discussion on accountability.)... 

Governing the Safety Management System 8.6.1 Establishing Accountability... 

As a part Peterson s program, a manual is provided, the purpose of which is to describe how to use CoreMedia s Dan Petersen Safety Perception (SPS) software program package. Its purpose is to identify shortcomings in safety management systems and to provide information to management on incorporating improvements into the accountability system. 

The safety and health of employees at the workplace is the ultimate responsibility of the management of the organization. Even though it is generally accepted that all share a role in safety, the ultimate accountability lies with all levels of the leadership. With this in mind, the implementation of a safety management system with the intent of changing the safety culture can only be successful if initiated, led, and supported by all management. 

Management now sets standards of accountability by delegating authority to certain positions for ongoing safety work to be done. Coordination and management of the safety management system needs to be allocated to certain departments and individuals, and this standard dictates who must do what, and by when, to run the system. 

Employees should be empowered to take part in safety decisions and to participate in the safety management system. Part of this is the establishment of employee authority, safety responsibility, and accountability for all levels. One of the best methods for employee empowerment is a facilitated workshop where management is encouraged to talk to the employees. This should be held in a safe space. The facilitator asks employees to list the things that could be done to improve safety at the plant, and what hampers safety in the workplace. Once a list is compiled, the attendees are asked to list what actions are needed to rectify the identified stumbling blocks and also to assign responsibility for those actions. Once the critical few hazards have been isolated, commitments are made to take action to rectify either the behaviors or conditions to eliminate the listed potential accidents. It is simply a matter of the employees tell us how we can improve safety. ... 

The purpose of a safety management system is to assist management in developing and operating a system to prevent and control accidental loss, get managers and employees involved in safety activities, and increase the effectiveness of operations within the organization. A system also defines safety authorities, responsibilities, and accountabilities and sets standards for various aspects of safety, health, and environmental protection. 

Delegate authority, responsibilities, and accountability to employees and management at various levels in the organization for certain aspects of the safety management system... 

The courses that I presented started off with the basic philosophy of safety management and the roles of management concerning anthority, responsibility, and accountability, and how they were the building blocks of a safety management system. An introduction to the system followed as well as an in-depth description of the 73 elements that comprised a comprehensive safety system. 

If your accountabihty system is going to work, any individual who continues to present barriers to an effective safety management system will have to be held accountable. It is important to try to separate any accountability activity from your immediate response to employee-raised questions, concerns, or suggestions [1]. 

A demonstrable justification that ICT is maintained in a safe operational state is the primary objective of the safety management system. In order to develop an effective safety management system, a number of considerations have been taken into account, with an impact on working practices which are explained more fully... 

Further, these are not just stereotypes. They provide information about the occupational culture of each of the mentioned groups. A person in a certain role brings that occupational culture into any discussion. You have certain ways of behaving and make assumptions about how a safety process should work based on your experiences. You must be aware of those assumptions, as they can taint your opinions and perception about what must be accomplished and how to go about getting your joh done. You must take into account the overall organizational culture if your safety management system is to operate effectively. 

Clearly defined and well-communicated safety roles and responsibilities for all levels of the organization are critical in the beginning phases of developing a safety management system. These outline all expectations about performance and accountability among the leadership team, all employees, contractors, and site visitors. Once the roles and responsibilities are assigned, everyone in the organization must be made aware of their individual roles and responsibilities. 

Each level of leadership should be held accountable for ensuring that channels of communication remain open in all directions about safety concerns and issues. Refer to Chapter 7, Leadership and the Effective Safety Culture , for a discussion on defining roles, responsibility, delegation, authority, and accountability for everyone in the organization (Building an Effective Health and Safety Management System, 1989). 

Define your assigned accountability and responsibility for the safety management system and the sustaining of the safety culture. 

Built into managerial and supervisory job titles are the levels of authority that define the scope and limits of authority. The safety management system can aid in defining the flow of authority through the organization and support responsibility, authority, and accountability. 

The final element of the triad is accountability, which activates responsibility and authority. Without accountability, even if authority is granted and responsibility delegated, nothing may happen, actions may or may not be taken, nobody may care about results, and the safety management system fails. 

When managers and employees are held accountable for their safety responsibilities, they are more likely to press for solutions to safety problems than to present barriers. By implementing an accountability system, positive involvement in the safety management system is created. 

The safety management system establishes responsibilities, authorities, and accountabilities as well as the structure to guide the organization in reducing such errors in combination with hazards and associated risk. 

Effective implementation of a safety management system is a leadership team s responsibility. As an in-depth system must reach all levels of the organization, the leadership team should actively involve all employees of the organization in the process. To reach the real potential of a system, it is important that roles, responsibility, delegation, and authority for safety-related assignments are clearly defined and coupled with a strong accountability structure. 

The process of completing ongoing reviews in order to assess the effectiveness of the fire safety management system will also provide the core information for an annual review and report to be published. In many sectors of industry annual reviews are conducted to ensure the organisation s compliance with, not only the principles of safety managements, but also the requirements of corporate accountability. 

This study showed that reliance upon supervisors alone to achieve safe conditions on site may not be a successful strategy. Supervisors are part of the overall safety management system which must operate within a favourable environment, with clear responsibilities given and accountability practised, tc ether with necessary training in the complex nature of the accident phenomenon and in solutions to health and safety problems. Supervisors and workers attitudes to safety generally reflect their perception of the attitudes of the employer. 

Accidents in construction (and elsewhere) are people problems at least as much as any other kind of problem. At some point, immediate or distant, people and decisions were involved. Toerris human we all make mistakes. It is the task of modern safety management systems to recc -nise that fact, and therefore to minimise the opportunities for mistakes, and to minimise the harm that can arise when they are made. Awareness of our limitations is needed before we can set up systems successfully which take those limitations into account and maximise safety efforts on site. 

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