Risk-Based, Management-Led, Audit-Driven, Safety Management Systems

Risk-based, Management-led, Audit-driven, Safety Management Systems, explains what a safety management system (SMS) is, and how it reduces risk in order to prevent accidental losses in an organization. It advocates the integration of safety and health into the day-to-day management of the enterprise as a value, rather than an add-on, and emphasizes that the safety movement must be initiated, led and maintained by management at all levels.

The concepts of safety authority, responsibility and accountability are described as the key ingredients to safety system success. Safety system audits are expounded in simple terms, and leading safety performance indicators are suggested as the most important measurements, in preference to lagging indicators. McKinnon highlights the importance of the identification and control of risk as a key basis for a SMS, with examples of a simple risk matrix and daily task risk assessment, as well as a simplified method of assessing, analyzing, and controlling risks.

The book refers to international Guidelines on SMS, as well as the proposed International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 45001, which could soon become the international safety benchmark for organizations worldwide. Using clear, approachable examples, the chapters give a complete overview of an SMS and its components. Confirming to most of the safety management system Guidelines published by leading world authorities, this volume will allow organizations to structure their own world-class SMS.

Ron C. McKinnon, CSP, is an internationally experienced and acknowledged safety professional, auditor, author, motivator, trainer, and presenter with more than 40 years of safety experience. He has been extensively involved in research concerning the cause, effect, and control of accidental loss. He has specialized in near miss incident reporting, accident investigation, safety system implementation, auditing, training, safety team building, and safety culture change for many years. He has worked and lived in 5 countries and has worked in Australia, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Chile, Hong Kong, Namibia, USA, Canada, Sweden, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.