Safety management system culture

The CCPS s process safety management system approach that uses risk-based strategies and implementation tactics that are commensurate with the risk-based need for process safety activities, availability of resources, and existing process safety culture to design, correct, and improve process safety management activities. 

Rather than discussing the implementation of various regulations or seeking to evaluate the effectiveness of safety management systems against templates of best practice, it considers how people think about safety, what it means to them and how they go on to collectively use those ideas in their everyday work. This could also be deemed an evaluation of construction site safety culture, a notoriously problematic term and one that is discussed in more... 

So if current ideas of safety on site are not really working, what can be done Well, as the introduction to this chapter suggested -the ideas and understandings of safety unpacked above are indeed helpful. They are able to illustrate what safety is on site -and that it is all a bit of a mess is itself well worth knowing. However, it would perhaps be more helpful to be able to understand these ideas in a more coherent way - and whenever the complexities of both people and the social worlds are explored, very often the concept of culture comes to the fore. This is what Choudhry et a/. (2007 1003) were alluding to in the quote found at the start of this chapter. Where complexity and dissonance start to emerge around safety, the check-sheets and tick boxes of proceduralised safety management systems become less relevant... 

The action principle of safety culture, principle of attitude and behavior and accident triangle principle can explain the action principle zero accident . Improving the safety management system, correcting people s unsafe behavior, controlling near misses and other small incidents are the effective way to achieve zero accidents objective for enterprise. 

Under the guidance of a good safety culture coal mines can establish a good safety management system, and thus encourage their employees to have sufficient security knowledge, a high level of safety... 

To determine what is really happening, an auditor must explore the safety management systems in place, what is expected of them, and which systems are effective or ineffective in controlhng an entity s risks. That, in effect, results in culture appraisal. 

The paramount goal of a safety management system audit is to influence the organization s culture concerning safety—that is, its system of... 

Hazards noted, physical or operational, are to be viewed as being representative of possible deficiencies in management systems. A management that wants to achieve a change in culture is best served if the deficiencies noted and the proposals made in audit reports for improvement principally effect safety management systems. 

The second link in the accident sequence is lack of control. This lack of safety management control could be a weak safety systan in place, no safety system standards, noncompliance to the standards, or a total lack of a structured safety management system (SMS). This is often indicated by a negative or nonexistent safety culture. This triggers off the basic causes of accidents. If no formal SMS is in place, this would be classified as an inadequate control 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. 

A common factor in all accredited safety management systems (SMS) is an element that calls for management leadership and commitment to the safety and health process. It is almost guaranteed that any attempt to change or improve the safety culture at any workplace will fail if there is not total commitment, leadership, and management involvement from the executive right down to and including frontline supervision. 

The leading document in the safety system is the official safety and health policy issued by the executive management. This policy forms the commitment to implement a structured safety management system, which in turn will bring about a change in the safety culture. The policy should be prominently displayed in the office foyer, on the company website, in the employees safety handbook, and on safety notice boards. 

Safety departments should be professional. Their responsibility is to advise management and coordinate the activities of an ongoing safety management system. They cannot improve the safety by accepting responsibility for safety. They should not directly try to influence behaviors of employees. Only management can do that. Traditional safety is a thing of the past. New approaches are needed by safety staff if they are to assist in the safety culture change process. 

The safety aspects of management are a vital part of creating safety culture change, and the safety management system (SMS) is the vehicle for the change. Safety management can be summarized as follows ... 

The following principles indicate the importance of management s role in safety culture change. The implementation of an SMS must have the full support of the executive management and must be driven by management at all levels. Management must also set the example, and as leaders, participate in the safety management system. 

This principle states Decisions concerning the safety culture and the safety management system intended to improve culture can only be made if the basic or root causes of the safety problem have been identified. This principle can also be stated as A logical and proper decision can be made only when the basic or real problem is first defined. (Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.)... 

Safety objectives must be set, and people must know what their authority within the safety management system is. Ownership of a segment of the safety system can help lead to participation and safety success. All employees, irrespective of their standing, should be given the ability (authority) to participate actively in the safety management system. This participation is a key component of safety culture change. 

Without safety amnesty no safety management system can be fuUy effective, and changing a safety culture will be almost impossible. Safety cultures can only be nurtured in a safe space. 

The physical work conditions are the result of a safety management system and are a visual indicator of a positive culture or lack thereof. No amount of paperwork or policies, meetings, or other safety activities can be said to be working if the physical conditions of the plant are not immaculate. The physical state of the workplace is a reflection of the efficiency of the safety system. 

The health and safety culture of an organization is an important factor in ensuring the effectiveness of risk control. The health and safety management system is an important influence on the safety culture, which in turn impacts on the effectiveness of the health and safety management system. Measuring aspects of the safety culture therefore forms part of the overall process of measuring health and safety performance. (P-14)... 

So had the safety culture changed Yes The entire culture moved from a reactive mode into a proactive safety mode with the implementation and maintenance of a world s best safety management system led by the management teams. They provided the resources and allowed for the development of those resources, and also participated in the development process by attending the training and getting involved in safety inspections, committees, and recognizing employees. 

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