Introduction
A safety management system (SMS) is a synchronized set of processes that are designed to manage a safety program. They can be reactive, proactive, or predictive. However, this paper aims to examine the SMS pillars explicitly from a proactive (present) and predictive (future) angle.
Safety policy
It is the first SMS pillar. It constitutes organizational structures, policies, and procedures that aim to realize safety goals (CASA, 2016). It comprises planning, organizing, documentation, compliance with the law, and emergency preparedness and response. It is typically the role of the senior managers to assume the primary responsibility of the organization’s safety. The management should provide essential resources for the SMS and its implementation, after procedures for reporting incidents and supplying junior employees with information concerning set behavior standards.
Safety Risk Management (SRM)
It is the second SMS pillar. It is impossible to eliminate risks; however, through the SRM, risks can be reduced. It involves the identification, mitigation, or elimination of imminent risks. Therefore, this characterizes it as both a proactive and predictive approach (FAA, 2016). This is unlike the past definition of SRM which used a strictly reactive approach.
It first begins with hazard identification in which a Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA) is used. Identification of risks can be carried out using several methods which include safety surveys, audits, factual briefings from frontline personnel, and analytical tools such as fault and event trees. Risks that will have a higher probability and severity rating will be the first to be addressed.
Safety assurance
It is the pillar that shows whether an organization is safe. It comprises internal audits, external audits, and corrective action that aim to assess the continued effectiveness of the implemented hazard control strategies (FAA, 2016). Furthermore, they facilitate the identification of new risks.
Safety Promotion
It is the fourth SMS pillar and it constitutes training, communication, and other actions that function to create a healthy safety culture within all levels of an organization (CASA, 2016). For safety promotion to be successful, it requires a constant, palpable presence of the SMS. This is achieved by the existence of open communication between the employees and management, regular feedbacks, and employee training on SMS.
Conclusion
The four pillars of SMS are essential in creating a proactive and predictive program as they explicitly aim in addressing hazards and risks in both the present (proactive) and future (predictive).
References
- CASA. (2016). What is safety management and safety management systems?
- FAA. (2016). Safety Management System components. Web.