Thousands of individuals are injured, or their health is negatively affected, yearly due to their working environment. Organisations and other types of businesses are required by law to protect personnel and implement proper safety policies. The key to successfully establishing a safe work environment is to develop and implement an effective safety management system. 

Implementing a system needs a comprehensive risk assessment process and the development of emergency policies. An effective safety system has many distinct aspects, from approach and commitment to implementation and operations. 

The best safety management system eventually results in fewer incidents and injuries for your employee. At the same time, the best plan is simple: to operate and maintain over time. It  also needs to be flexible enough to adapt to changes in  the law or your company goals.  

This article will explain how to implement a health and safety management system; a tried-and-true safety management system method that benefits many sectors and businesses. 

The Purpose of a Safety Management System 

A safety management system aims to provide a systematic approach to managing safety risks in operations. It also determines and integrates written programs and workplace procedures required by Health and Safety Executive (HSE). 

Elements of a Safety Management Program 

Every organisation’s safety management program should cover the complete scope of an employer’s occupational health and safety system. The following are the key elements of a successful health and safety management system: 

1. A Safety Management Plan 

A Safety Management Plan is a detailed document that describes the steps your company will take to establish a safe workplace for its employees and customers. It evaluates the risks and hazards associated with your company. It defines the measures you’ll implement to address those threats, assesses how effective these procedures are at mitigating risk, and determines the frequency of inspections and reviews to ensure your system remains effective.  

2. Written Safety Programs and Procedures 

The workplace shall develop an occupational safety and health policy program as part of preparing the safety statement stated in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Effective safety and health policies should provide proper guidance for the organisation to follow. They will contribute to all elements of company performance as part of a clear commitment to continual improvement. Responsibilities to people and the workplace shall be addressed in compliance with the intent and law. These policies should be made available to everyone in the business to access – something you can do with Knowledge sharing in Inform People’s Virtual PA. 

3. Employee Training 

The importance of training and education cannot be stressed enough. Training ensures that workers have the knowledge they need to do their given jobs safely and correctly while educating them at the same time on the purpose and value of safety in their daily work activities. The training aims to guarantee that personnel know how to perform their job duties and how to do them safely. This could be done online or in person training, depending on what suits your business. 

4. Safety Risk Management 

Risk management is identifying, monitoring, and mitigating risks so that they do not become a significant issue for your company. Tracking risk and performance is one of the most challenging aspects of developing a new safety management programme. Risk is an integral aspect of conducting business, but the goal of safety is to identify these risks and put procedures in place to avoid them. 

Your system should provide a risk management strategy that includes risk profiles, mitigation strategies, and measurements for each function. You will need to review each area and rate the risks based on their severity and effect. While the work might be daunting, establishing general hazards for each department can help you focus. 

5. Accident and Incident Reporting 

Your company’s health and safety system requires reporting at all levels, not just the executive level. When an incident happens, incident management ensures that it is reported, investigated, and recorded correctly. Your employees must understand what constitutes safety—what is going well and causing a problem. It can only happen if you provide them with safety feedback, such as how many hazards were identified, the associated risk levels, and what necessary actions were implemented. 

6. Communication  

With all the other pieces in place, you must have a system that enables you to interact with your team and other stakeholders. Make sure everyone has access to the most current information. Out-of-date or inaccurate information is the last thing you want to ruin your efforts. Another crucial aspect of communication is ensuring your employees are aware of any risks in their job. These should be shared regularly, mainly if the workplace has changed. 

How to Implement a Safety Management System 

HSE is strongly focused on safety management systems to compliance; thus, implementing a safety system under one of the existing standards may put your organisation ahead of the game. 

Create and Update Safety Manual 

Developing or updating the safety manual and its associated programmes should collaborate between the HSE standard and all relevant corporate stakeholders. Before finalising and implementing the safety manual, all aspects of the company, including human resources, risk management, operations, maintenance, warehousing, and administrative groups, should take part, or at the very least evaluate and comment on the documentation. 

You should set up document version control procedures when top management has completed and approved the safety manual and make sure the latest version is adequately digitised and shared. 

• Create review timeframes and processes. 
• Set up “version control” so that only the most recent revision is accessible for execution. 
• Archive older copies and keep records following HSE regulations. 
• When regulatory requirements, equipment, or processes change, implement procedures for evaluating and amending sections. 
• During new employee orientation, you should present and discuss the document. Employees may then use it as a reference for future safety training on the programmes included within it. 

Hazard Assessments in the Safety Manual 

Hazards and unsafe environments may be brought to management’s notice in several ways. The worst way to learn about an incident is when it becomes a “self-disclosing event” A self-disclosure event might include: 

• An employee’s being sick or hurt at work. 
• A notice or complaint about a potential plant or process related. 
• Problems or failure before accident or incident happens. 

• Management must spend time and resources searching for possible hazardous conditions. However, they must also allow employees to speak out when they suspect a problem. 

Here are various approaches to formalise “searching for unsafe things.” Giving this process structure implies it has: 

• A clear goal. 
• A timetable in which hourly employees and managers must take part;  
• A framework allows for systematically examining complex or extensive processes so that any issues discovered may be resolved promptly. 

Spotting Hazards with Gemba-Walks  

To conduct a Gemba walk, a cross-functional team, including management of the environment, health and safety (EHS), and hourly employees, takes time out of their daily operations to visit the actual site, also known as “the scene of the crime”. 

The crew walks the whole floor or a portion that can be traversed slowly and viewed in roughly an hour. During the walk, workers are asked questions about their concerns, and a wide variety of safety procedures and circumstances are examined concerning the activities taking place—a note-taker documents any inadequacies in safety, health, or environmental management. 

After the walk, the group discusses what they saw (both good and negative) and agrees on what steps need to address any safety concerns. 

Spotting Hazards with Job Site Walks 

Job walks highlight safety hazards arising from continually changing circumstances at a retail, hospitality, or entertainment site. 

These walks are usually the responsibility of the site safety representative. They are often more successful, though, when building site superintendents and other supervisors also attend. 

A checklist (either digital or paper) is an excellent idea. Documentation ensures that critical areas such as fall protection, and electrical safety are reviewed and provides a written record of the inspection and concerns noted. 

Harnessing Employee Reporting  

Most businesses have a system in place for reporting harmful behaviours and circumstances, so any employee may express concerns or ask questions about safety. For this reason, there is usually an email address, phone number, or suggestion box accessible. 

Companies with efficient safety management procedures read and reply to these concerns swiftly, providing feedback to the person who reported them. 

A Job Hazard Analysis (JHA/JSA) may assist a worker in better understanding how to eliminate or reduce a hazard after finding a hazardous procedure or condition. 

The JHA/JSA is a hazard identification and control instrument. Both may be used to assess a process, a piece of equipment, or a planned procedure. The JHA approach begins by breaking each work operation down into precise phases. It is then determined what dangers (if any) are present and what kind of control may be used to lessen or remove the hazard. 

After completing the risk matrix, decide if it is possible to use the hierarchy of controls to reduce the chance of an event or the severity of an occurrence. The hierarchy of controls is an effective method of decreasing or cutting risks by using one or more of the following mitigation strategies: 

• Elimination: Get rid of the danger. 
• Substitution: Use a less dangerous material to replace the hazard. 
• Engineering controls: Isolate the worker from danger (i.e., guarding or ventilation). 
• Administrative management: Include implementing safe work rules or norms. 

• Personal protection equipment (PPE): is used to keep employees safe. 

Safety Training and Education 

Training and education are essential for developing safe working practices and sharing information. Training is needed for all levels of personnel, from the most senior managers to new hires. Training programmes will teach you how to: 

• Identify and correct risks. 
• Understand how to use equipment safely. 
• Understand what to do in an emergency such as a sudden sickness or a fire. 
• Employers must undertake a “Training Needs Assessment” to decide which safety subjects to deliver to their workers. 

Safety Training Needs Assessment 

Employers must undertake a “Training Needs Assessment” to decide which safety subjects to deliver to their workers. 

The needs assessment examines the areas of the Safety Manual that need training for compliance reasons. It also functions as a comprehensive task evaluation to decide which tasks represent dangers that training may address for workers. 

Training Program Organization 

The training and education programme aims to ensure that workers understand their job’s safety and health risks. All personnel, including managers, supervisors, and administrative and engineering staff, must be included in a successful training program. 

The following are key parts of the training program: 

• The program should be designed and implemented by qualified individuals who have received training in technical safety compliance requirements and adult learning methodologies. 
• Various instructional design styles should be employed, such as classroom education, computer-based learning, on-the-job training, peer-to-peer, and manufacturer’s technical training. 
• Training should be delivered in the correct language and at the proper level of comprehension for the individual(s) being trained.  
• The training programme should have a method for adequate assessing its efficacy and must be evaluated regularly. 
• Before beginning work, new employees and personnel reassigned to a new duty must get job-specific training. New employees should be trained in emergency procedures, mandatory PPE, evacuation routes, administrative and work practice controls, and any other information needed to avoid workplace accidents or illnesses. 

Training Program Effectiveness 

Having a training program and offering safety training does not ensure that your personnel receive and understand the information received by your personnel. Effective training programs have processes for figuring out how much knowledge workers retain once training is completed. 

Other ways of measuring training efficacy apart from actual behaviour change include: 

• Questionnaires 
• Performance evaluations 
• Individual and group interviews 
• Records of incidents and illnesses 
• Reports on incidents and investigations 
• Corrective actions were taken after an accident that showed training flaws. 
• Continuously improving your training programs can help personnel and the company’s bottom line since enhancements will result in fewer accidents and injuries. 

Use Safety Management Software for Better Results 

Safety Management Systems may be difficult to create and execute. As a result, many businesses struggle to meet their regulatory duties, but this does not have to be the case.  

A safety management software programme enables safety managers to analyse data and spot problems. Managers may use the data to make adjustments that boost efficiency, reduce risk, and increase profitability. The correct system may help you in the following ways: 

• Follow all safety rules. 
• Assist in finding and eliminating dangers that threaten your employees. 
• Boost productivity by selecting the best methods for streamlining the process. 
• Maintain an up-to-date safety management system. 

What are my next steps?

Inform People’s compliance and performance management software is one of the solutions that top firms across the globe are utilising to improve the efficiency of their safety management. It is a powerful tool for speeding up procedures and meeting regulatory requirements in real time, and it may help prevent catastrophes from occurring in the first place. 

After you are set up, you can use Inform People to check compliance and keep your safety standards up to date. You may upload files, communicate with on-site workers, and keep all your staff updated. It is simple to use and effective in helping you in ensuring that safety standards are always followed. 

Give Inform People a try if you are searching for a simple, low-cost choice to help with workplace compliance.