ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS OF A SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Abstract

A successful Safety Management System is more that just words and numbers on pages. It is the way that human beings cooperate with each other for surviving the hazards around them. The Safety Case concept which arose from the inquiry into Piper Alpha is one of the best attempts made thus far at systematising safety using risk management techniques. Unfortunately the Safety Case and its embedded Safety Management System do not address the basic problem that people are imperfect machines and are wholly unpredictable at a detail level. To counter this, it is essential that managers keep people risk-aware, safety-motivated and improvement-minded. This requires humility, sincerity, good system content, clarity of responsibility, a disinterest in blame, an easy- to-use written reporting system, respect for life and unambiguous priorities of safety, quality and money.