Safety management system feedback

Integrated Safety Management Core Functions—The core safety management functions for DOE P 450.4, Safety Management System Policy, which are to (1) define the scope of work (2) analyze the hazards (3) develop and implement hazard controls (4) perform work within controls and (5) provide feedback and continuous improvement. These functions are also identified in DEAR 48 CFR 970.5204-2(c). 

The final steps in the health and safety management control cycle are auditing and performance review. Organizations need to be able to reinforce, maintain and develop the ability to reduce risks. The feedback loop produced by this final stage in the process enables them to do this and to ensure continuing effectiveness of the health and safety management system. 

The safety management system must have a feedback loop that communicates to the leadership team the status of the various programs and systems required to control hazards and associated risk. 

The elements of a Safety management system (SMS). A number of important elements are specifed that have to do with the settingofpolicy and creation of plans and organizational capacity to realize that policy (PLAN), the analysis of hazards and effects leading to planningand implementation of those plans in order to manage the risks (DO), and the control on the effective performance of those steps (CHECK). A number of feedback loops are specified to see where the information gained should be sent (FEEDBACK)... 

If the first thing that must be focused on when having safety discussions with employees is Where are your safety glasses, gloves, and the like , then you have immediate feedback that employees are not actively involved and engaged in the safety management system where a safety culture does reach the deep levels of the organization s culture. 

The above lesson learned demonstrates that the key to employee involvement is to promote awareness, instill an understanding of the comprehensive nature of a safety management system, and allow employees to own the system. The key is ensuring to provide timely and appropriate feedback as to why something was either corrected or not corrected and what actions are to be taken if a valid issue exists. 

Many resources are readily and economically available that provide the content for a safety process, its programs, and criteria. The issue is in the communication and feedback required to ensure that the safety management system is being utilized and is effectively meeting its goals and objectives. An assessment determines how effective the process is working and if it is incorporated into the daily activities of the organization. 

The overall purpose of an audit is to measure performance against a standard, in this case the safety management system against an organisation s policy or a standard such as HSG65 or OHSAS 18001. The results of the audit provide an effective feedback loop that enables an organisation to measure its effectiveness of the safety management and areas of weakness that may require attention. 

As with audits, safety reviews are an essential part of a management system. These reviews are closely linked to the active monitoring process they assist in providing feedback of the adequacy of the fire safety management system to the management team and the responsible person. 

Accident and ill-health reporting, recording and investigation provide feedback as to the indirect and direct causes of accidents. The study of past accident causes provides information for the development of future pro-active strategies. The limitations of accident data as a measure of safety performance are covered in Chapter 4 - Safety Management Systems. 

An accident represents, almost by definition, a failnre of the risk assessment process. If the hazards had all been identified, the risks adeqnately assessed and the controls in place are effective, comprehensive and rontinely nsed, then the accident would not have occnrred. Risk assessment is now central to the regnlatory systems in most mining operations and should therefore be an integral part of the health and safety management systems in place on snch mines. As snch, a feedback loop between accident investigation and risk assessment is essential if repeat or similar accidents are to be avoided. 

As discussed earlier in this chapter, the main requirements to ensure an appropriate safety culture are similar to those which are advocated in quality management systems. These include active participation by the workforce in error and safety management initiatives, a blame-free culture which fosters the free flow of information, and an explicit policy which ensures that safety considerations will always be primary. In addition both operations and management staff need feedback which indicates that participation in error reduction programs has a real impact on the way in which the plant is operated and systems are designed. 

To close the loop in the safety and health management system, periodic assessment and feedback are necessary. Indicators should be chosen that can assess the overall performance of the laboratory with respect to safety and health. Whenever possible, leading indicators such as behavioral observations should be measured and reviewed, as well as trailing indicators such as the type and number of injuries and illnesses and loss of working time. The purpose of this assessment is to determine the overall effectiveness of the safety and health management system and to correct any areas of deficiency. 

Besides setting the culture through their own behavior, managers need to establish the organizational safety policy and create a safety control structure with appropriate responsibilities, accountability and authority, safety controls, and feedback channels. Management must also establish a safety management plan and ensure that a safety information system and continual learning and improvement processes are in place and effective. 

Safety reporting systems in healthcare have drawn their inspiration from similar systems in other industries, particularly aviation and the nuclear industry. Reporting systems in aviation are now well developed and provide important safety related feedback, although this has not always been the case. Captain Mike Holton describes the situation which led to the establishment of the British Airways safety information system (BASIS), a state of affairs which may be strangely familiar to many clinicians and managers in healthcare ... 

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