Safety Management System (SMS) – it can seem complex, but doesn’t need to be. Once you’ve got your system in place and you’re using the right tools, it should be simple to maintain. But what is a Safety Management System? First, it’s about making safety part of your organizational culture by providing tools or processes that increase awareness of potential safety issues or hazards. Then it’s about providing a system to help implement change in your organization so that observed safety issues or hazards don’t lead to something more serious. These five examples demonstrate why it can be simple.
1. SMS is as complex as you want it to be
One thing that can discourage companies from using SMS is the perception that it is complex to manage. However, that all depends on how it’s managed. Your operations’ specific steps or processes should be adapted and changed based on your size, complexity, needs, and resources. There are many ways to streamline SMS: for example, SMS shouldn’t be an excuse to generate piles of paper and multi-spreadsheet files. Also, not everyone needs a safety committee – for most operators, periodic safety meetings are just fine.
