Safety management system site conditions

Collecting the correct information to monitor and understand performance of the process safety management system, and its separate elements, can provide an unbiased and comprehensive view of system performance. This will alert the appropriate personnel to weaknesses in the process safety system. A companywide versus a site-specific approach to process safety auditing, evaluation, and improvement not only deals with better prioritization of identified improvement work but potentially provides better auditing and evaluation against those conditions that one site may accept as normal/acceptable over time. 

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. 

Providing for regular site safety and health inspection, so that new or previously missed hazards and failures in hazard controls are identified, is critical to worksite analysis. Employee insight and experience in safety and health protection should also be utilized, where employee concerns may be addressed. A reliable system for employees is to be provided and encouraged, without fear of reprisal, to notify management personnel about conditions that appear hazardous and to receive timely and appropriate responses. 

This part of the analysis helps the analyst to generalise the specific findings from one specific accident investigation or safety-programme evaluation. Events and conditions of the S-branch thus often have their counterparts in the M-branch. By querying the M-branch, the analyst is able to move his or her focus from the specific circumstances at the accident site to the total management system. The recommendations from this analysis will affect many other accident risks as well. 

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