System safety professionals

System safety professionals have achieved notable successes, and generalists in the practice of safety can learn valuable lessons from them. In MORT Safety Assurance Systems, William G. Johnson made the following comments, with which I agree, about accompKshments that could not have been achieved without applying system safety concepts. 

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce you to process safety management, including the background that led to specific public laws, definitions applicable to this unique area, and requirements for process safety management, both in the United States and in Canada. This is a fascinating new area for both the safety or system safety professional and the process industry practitioner. 

In this section, both dictionary definitions of professionalism and the interpretations of prominent system safety professionals in the field are presented. 

According to Curt Lewis, System Safety Manager for American Airlines, A system safety professional is someone who not only who knows the job, but who also has integrity and who can communicate the importance of safety to the company s mission to those above and below. The professional continuously seeks to improve his/her knowledge and ability (C.E. Lewis, personal communication, August 13,2003). 

More to the point, your question might be what are the characteristics of a system safety professional In this author s opinion, a system safety professional needs to go beyond the narrow definition of a safety professional as stated above and he or she should have the following attributes ... 

System Safety professionals shall undertake, and encourage their employees to further their education, become registered and certified by appropriate legal and professional authorities at the earliest possible date, to join and participate in appropriate professional organizations and to attend and present papers at professional and technical Society meetings. 

Future Direction of Safety and System Safety Professionalism... 

There are a number of potential future directions for the safety field and for system safety professionals. First, there are the international pressures of the global market and international standards that may apply to professionals. 

According to the System Safety Society principles and cannons, what are some of the requirements of a system safety professional ... 

System Safety professionals shall uphold and advance the integrity, honor and stature of the System Safety profession by ... 

System Safety professionals shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of mankind in the performance of their professional duties. 

System Safety professionals shall perform services only in the areas of their competency. 

System Safety professionals shall be objective and truthful in all of their professional actions, documents and statements. 

System Safety professionals shall perform professional services as faithful agents and trustees for each employer, client or customer, void of any known conflict of interest. 

System safety professionals shall build their professional reputations on the merits of their services void of deceitful and unethical practices. 

System Safety professionals shall associate only with reputable persons and organizations. 

System Safety professionals shall continue their professional development throughout their careers and shall provide opportunities for the professional development of persons under their supervision. 

SECTION 1—System Safety professional Shall Hold Paramount the Safety, Health, and Welfare of Mankind in the Performance of Their Professional Duties. 

System Safety professionals must recognize that the safety, health, and welfare of mankind is dependent upon sound scientific, engineering and management principles and practices being incorporated into the design, test, production, construction, and use of products and systems. 

System Safety professionals shall approve only plans, specifications, designs, hardware and software that are safe and in conformity with accepted safety standards. 

System Safety professionals shall assure the development of standards, codes, procedures or other similar documentation to enable the public and clients to understand the degree of safety, risk and life expectancy associated with the use and operation of the products and systems for which they are responsible. 

System Safety professionals shall inform their client or employer and, as appropriate, proper authorities of the possible consequences whenever Aeir professional judgment is overruled under circumstances where the safety, health, and welfare of the public is endangered. 

System Safety professionals who know, or believe, another person or firm is in violation of any of the provisions of these Guidelines, shall report such information to that person or firm and, as appropriate, to the proper authorities. 

SECTION —System Safety Professionals Perform Services only in the Areas of their Competency. 

System Safety professionals shall assume only safety, task, for which they are qualified by education or experience in the specific field of concern. 

System Safety professionals shall affix their signatures and seals only to documents dealing with subject matter in which they have competency by virtue of education or experience and only to safety plans or documents prepared under their direct supervisory control. 

System Safety professionals shall endeavor to extend public knowledge and understanding of the achievements, capabilities and limitations of engineering technology. 

System Safety professionals shall include all relevant and pertinent facts and information in their professional reports, statements, or testimony. 

System Safety professionals, when serving as part expert or technical witness before any court-commission, or other tribunal, shall express opinions only when they are founded upon adequate knowledge of the facts at issue, from a background of technical competence in the subject matter, and upon honest conviction of the accuracy and propriety of their testimony. 

System Safety professionals shall not issue statements criticisms or arguments on safety matters which are inspired or paid for by interested individuals or entities unless they preface their comments by explicitly disclosing the identities and interests of the parties on whose behalf they are speaking, and by revealing the existence of any financial or other interest they have in the matters involved. 

System Safety professionals shall be dignified and modest in describing their work and merit, and shall avoid any statement or act tending to promote their own interests at the expense of the integrity, honor and dignity of the profession. 

SECTION 4—System Safety Professionals Perform Professional Services as Faithful Agents and Trustees for Each Employer, Client or Customer, Void of any Known Conflict of Interest. 

System Safety professionals shall avoid known conflicts of interest with their employers, clients or customers, and promptly inform such persons of any business association, interest, or circumstances which could influence their judgment or the quality of their services. 

System Safety professionals shall not accept compensation, financial or otherwise, from more than one party for the exact same service on the same project, unless the circumstances are fully disclosed and agreed to by all interested parties. 

System Safety professionals shall treat information acquired in the course of their assignments as confidential, and shall not use such information as a means of enhancing personal profit or prestige if such action would be adverse to the interests of their clients, employers, customers, or the public. 

System Safety professionals shall not accept professional employment outside of their regular place of employment without the knowledge of their employer. 

SECTION 5—System Safety Professionals Shall Build Their Professional Reputations of the Merit of Their Services Void of Deceitful and Unethical Practices. 

System Safety professionals shall not pay or offer to pay (directly or indirectly) any commission, contribution, gift or other consideration in order to secure work, except for employment agency fees. 

System Safety professionals shall negotiate contracts for professional services only when they are competent and qualified for the type of professional service required. 

System Safety professionals shall negotiate and fully disclose an acceptable and rate of compensation with a client, employee or other professional commensurate with the scope of services to be performed. 

System Safety professionals shall assure that representations of academic, experience and professional qualifications are factual for themselves and their associates. They do not misrepresent or exaggerate their degree of responsibility in, or the subject matter of, prior assignments. 

System Safety professionals shall evaluate and provide reports to others on the work of other safety professionals only with the knowledge of such professionals unless the assignments or contractual agreements for the work by the other safety professional has been terminated or unless the functions and responsibilities of their position are specifically identified or implied to perform work evaluation. 

System Safety professionals shall advertise only in dignified business and professional publications. They shall assure the advertisement is factual and not misleading with respect to their accomplishments or extent of participation in any services or projects described. 

System Safety professionals shall prepare articles for the lay or technical press which are factual, dignified and free from self-serving ostentations or laudatory implications. Such articles shall factually depict their direct participation in the work described and give credit to others for their share of the work. 

System Safety professionals shall extend permission for their name to be used in commercial advertisements (such as may be published by manufacturers, contractors, material suppliers, etc.) only by means of a modest dignified notation acknowledging their scope of participation in the project or product described. 

System Safety professionals shall attempt to attract employees, from another employer by ethical and honorable means only. 

System Safety professionals shall advertise for recruitment of personnel in appropriate publications or by special distribution, assuring the information presented is displayed in a dignified manner restricted to firm name, address, telephone number, appropriate symbol, the fields of practice in which the firm is involved and factual descriptions of positions, available, qualifications required and benefits provided. 

System Safety professionals shall not malidously or falsely (directly or indirectly) injure the professional reputation prospects, practice or employment of another safety professional, nor indiscriminately criticize another s work. 

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