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What is a Safety Management System? If you ask an air carrier, charter operator, corporate flight department, or MRO if they have a Safety Management System (SMS), they will often say, "Yes." The fact is, most of these organizations do not have an SMS, they have a safety program. For example, an air carrier's safety program primarily pertains to the organization's ability to adhere to standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and maintenance. An SMS on the other hand is a systematic, explicit and comprehensive business process for managing safety risks that integrates operations and technical systems with the management of financial and human resources to ensure safety.
As with other management systems, an SMS provides for goal setting, planning, and measuring performance. A safety management system is woven into the fabric of an organization. It becomes part of the corporate culture; the way people do their jobs and should include:
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a safety policy on which the system is based
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a process for setting goals for the improvement of safety and for measuring the attainment of those goals
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a process for identifying hazards and for evaluating and managing the associated risks
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a process for ensuring that personnel are trained and competent to perform their duties
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a process for the internal reporting and analyzing of hazards, incidents and accidents and for taking corrective actions to prevent their recurrence
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a document containing all safety management system processes and a process for making personnel aware of their responsibilities with respect to them
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a process for conducting periodic reviews or audits of the safety management system and reviews or audits for cause of the safety management system
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any additional requirements for the safety management system that are prescribed under regulations
The achievement of an effective SMS requires careful planning and must be phased in over a period of time that aligns with the size and complexity of the organization. The SMS implementation plan requires expertise and experience and should include:
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Safety policy
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Objectives and goals
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System description
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Safety and culture gap analysis
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Safety roles and responsibilities
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Safety reporting policy
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Means of employee involvement
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Safety training
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Safety communication
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Safety performance monitoring
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Management review (of safety performance)
The SMS Partners (JDA and NWDS) have the experience and tools that are needed to assist with your SMS implementation. JDA is a MITRE licensed SMS training organization qualified to help plan and implement SMS as well as provide SMS manuals. NWDS' SMS Pro™ Web-based application is unmatched in functionality, capability and reliability. Together, SMS Partners will provide you with the best and most cost-effective SMS for your organization.
Performance Differences between SMS
Adopters and Non-Adopters
Is the performance of companies that adopt safety management systems (SMSs) different from those who do not adopt an SMS? To determine the answer, the Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Parma, Italy collected data in 2007 on a sample of 116 companies, encompassing both SMS adopters and non-adopters. Testing was performed to assess whether SMS adopters experienced significantly higher performance against:
1. Definition of safety and security goals and their communication to employees;
2. Risk data updating and risk analysis;
3. Identification of risks and definition of corrective actions;
4. Employee training.
Results showed that companies that adopted an SMS exhibited higher performance against all the topics identified.
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The Benefits & Costs of an SMS
Whatever you may have heard, a Safety Management System (SMS) enables you to better comply with regulations and other requirements, will help drive down the number of safety events, will lower personnel injuries and helps keep your operating costs down. One cannot deny that there are some costs associated with implementing an SMS; however, these expenses are more than off-set by the benefits derived from having an SMS in place.
Benefits
An effective SMS brings many benefits to an organization. These benefits are felt by the employees, the unions, and even insurance providers and contractors.
Employees are more productive in a safe environment and it is much better to have employees contributing and working with you to manage their own safety. Involved employees are more conscientious, more productive and have lower absenteeism rates.
Employee unions frequently cite safety and health programs, or lack thereof, in their contract negotiations, a strong SMS can assist in alleviating concerns and contract disputes.
More and more insurance providers as well as contractors are requiring that certain incident rate requirements be met. Failure to meet the requirements equate to higher insurance premiums or the loss of a contract.
In summary, here are the top ten reasons to implement an SMS:
1. Reduced administrative costs.
2. Potential for reduced insurance and liability costs.
3. Positive employee impacts and protection of worker health.
4. Reduced costs associated with ground events, poor maintenance and operational procedures.
5. Improved employee performance and relations.
6. Fewer numbers of regulatory non compliance and fines.
7. Fewer personnel injuries and lost worker time.
8. Enhanced image within your company for employees, customers and stakeholders.
9. Improved relations with FAA, OSHA and other regulatory bodies.
10. Improved competitive advantage, because processes are better and costs are lower.
Costs
Like any new system there are costs associated with completing an SMS. There are costs associated with training and administrative areas and processes may need to be revised. You may discover some areas, especially after you complete an SMS Gap Analysis, that need to be updated. If these areas are regulatory compliance items, the costs associated with non-compliance would have to be incurred anyway.
The cost of safety programs is perceived as having little added value by many organizations. But in fact, safe workplaces are more efficient, more productive and the costs of events and injuries are significantly reduced through an SMS.
Implementation
Companies that already have an ISO 9000 Quality Management System (QMS) or 14000 Environmental Management System (EMS) qualification will discover that an SMS will easily incorporate safety elements and activities into existing systems. Companies that do not have a QMS or an EMS, will find that an SMS is a great starting point and easy to implement.
The benefits of an SMS far outweigh any potential risks and costs. An SMS profits everyone: the company, the employees, stakeholders, stockholders and even the regulators.
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