The article places ISRS in the context of safety management: the conscious and structured effort to obtain results in safety and loss control1. The overall goal of safety management is to obtain consistent results in the field of safety. In the final analysis it should be clear that it is the same overall management system and the same people working with it that will have to look after the right way to do the work that needs to be done.
It is the same management system which ensures that people in the organization know what is expected of them in order for effective "self-management". And it also selects the level of security in the organization through the quality of the relevant management system. It means making a PLAN so that in the end the right things can be done in the right way.
Clearly, this is the crux of the matter: doing the right things in the right way.
ADAPTATION OF ORGANIZATION - WORK TO BE DONE - PLAN
The platform can be seen above in Figure 2A, while a front view can be seen in Figure 2B. Successive action plans should be aimed at setting up the management system that incorporates the above aspects. Detailed criteria should be established to clearly identify how activities should be carried out, by whom, when, etc.
DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLE - TRAIN
EXECUTION OF ACTIVITIES - DO
The top-down approach follows the accepted leadership role of top management and gives direction to the program by specifying which activities are expected to be carried out in the organization and which training will be provided. By implanting in the organization a system for (self) measurement of what is being done and (self) evaluation in relation to established criteria. Bottom-up approach by involving people at the lower end of the organization in problem solving within their area of work.
Given this grassroots involvement, one must realize that this does not happen automatically. Bottom-up involvement must be brought into the organization through top-down activities, creating effective two-way communication channels. This requires an adequate (fast, correct, positive) management response to problems and/or solutions and suggestions coming from lower levels of the organization.
There must be a balance between the activities desired by the organization, the training provided, and the implementation of the activities in practice.
Safety management - a road to success - THE PROCESS
- Top Manager Leadership
- Top Management Team leadership
- Management Improvement Team (MIT)
- Internal Expertise
- Written Plan communicated
- Opinion Survey
- Base-line Assessment
- Selection of Activities
- Management Introduction Training
- Element Coordination
- Training Element Coordination
- System Elements Development
- Practical Element Training
- Management Briefings
- Carrying out Element Activities
- Repeat Process
The purpose of this step is to ensure that individual leadership, commitment and support is provided by all members of the management team. The "management team" as meant here consists of the managers who report directly to senior management.). Coordination at the top of the organization provides the high-level power source required to get the improvement process off the ground and on the way to success.
This gives the management team a clear picture of strength and development needs and is a valuable tool to select specific activities for the initial action plan. The purpose of this step is to get a good idea of the current situation in relation to the management systems involved. Good information provision to all people in leadership positions is essential for the success of the next steps in the program.
The purpose of this step is to ensure that all management, supervision and relevant staff are aware of the improvement process, know the terminology, models, concepts, etc. They will act as the focal point in detailing the selected activities for which they have been given special responsibility. The purpose of this step is to ensure the training of individuals or teams involved in coordinating the elements (successful development and implementation).
The purpose of this step is to provide adequate training to perform the element's activities (refs 8 and 12). The purpose of this step is to inform (senior) management levels about critical aspects of leadership/coaching etc. Therefore, step 16 involves repeating many—not all—of the previous steps to improve the effectiveness of the management system. to the desired level.
Safety management - MEASURING AND DIRECTING
No management system can be built and made operationally efficient by issuing one action plan. The purpose of this step is the expansion of the Management System to include further elements through relevant steps indicated above. Even in current practice, safety measurement is devoted almost exclusively to shop floor items, even within most of the large multinational companies.
Therefore, management-level measurement is required to gain the management attention required and to effectively address the root and underlying causes of accidents and other adverse events, to manage some of the fundamental elements of organizational performance. Some of the more progressive organizations have experienced this type of safety measurement over the past few years, and more are following these leaders in safety management. Since it is mainly workers who are included in these measurements, attention is drawn almost exclusively to the shop floor.
One of the most developed safety rating systems is the International Safety Rating System™, which allows management to evaluate and highlight available control activities and gradually improve them to a desired level. An important part of our attention should be directed to the measurement of control related to the management system. This way of leading or guiding is related to the traditional way of measuring safety (measurement of consequences: frequency of lost time accidents) and is part of the traditional way of thinking about safety.
Furthermore, accident investigations usually stop at unsafe acts and conditions and do not address the real causes that lie in the "management system". However, it is also one of the most difficult ways of driving as it has to be determined what people actually do to prevent accidents, incidents, etc. It is here that the management system comes under analysis and it is here that much of the management's attention should be rather than being constantly involved with "putting out fires".
Safety Management - PERSIST IN BASIC PRINCIPLES
In safety management, these three metrics (see Figure 5) should all be used to achieve lasting results. The traditional way of safety management: something goes wrong (an accident) and action is taken. This way of safety management cannot provide lasting success as it is always an afterthought because an adverse event is required to trigger action and improvement.
Organizations are never static, and there is constant change in the organization as well as in the outside world. What has happened in the past can never provide a sufficient basis for what will happen in the future. Safety management is particularly based on proactive management techniques and on using safety auditing as an important instrument to measure, establish and maintain an appropriate management control system.
Security management is complex in implementing the many details that can be encountered in practice. But it's based on a few relatively simple principles: know what needs to be done, set minimum performance standards, and do it, do it, and keep doing it. Until results are achieved: the level of security that management wants for the organization for which it is responsible.
Success in security management is only for those who believe in the bottom line. Unfortunately, this is not the case - there are no "quick fixes and no panaceas. Too much time is often wasted looking for promising new management techniques, and it would be much better to keep the main objectives in mind and believe in applying the approach of simply provided here.
Safety management - THE TOOL - The International Safety Rating System™
The ISRS includes 20 elements (see Figure 7) as part of a "core" security/loss control audit system. The introduction also conveys the "why" and "how" of the audit and the background of the audit process as part of the improvement process. Thus, senior management can demonstrate their leadership by supporting the audit as part of the desired change process.
This introduction is intended to inform the persons selected to participate in the next step of the audit process about their role in it. This document provides further information on the current state of the organisation's safety and loss control programme, compared to the criteria used in the ISRS. A large part of the presentation is directed at the possible next step: the improvement process.
When making suggestions, it should be taken into account that suggestions aimed at improving the management system will be directed towards the long-term goals of the organization. Proposals for short-term results will address specific problem areas identified during a physical visit to the site being audited and will typically focus on "direct causes" (through "inspections" and "observation of behavior") or be based on accident/incident analysis. A safety audit using the ISRS as a result provides a comparison with the criteria used in the International Safety Rating System™.
The ISRS audit results can be expressed as shown in Figure 8, where the percentage score per item is shown by the length of the arrows. The percentage score can be used as the basis for certification recognition and this recognition can be achieved at any of 10 different levels depending on the development of the organization's security and loss control program. ISRS can be a very important tool in improving security, raising the level of risk awareness and organizational improvements in general.
ISRS enables the gradual adaptation of the organization, provides guidelines for training people and for carrying out desired and necessary activities to achieve results. ISRS can be a means of gaining recognition for performance and can play a very important role in communication with authorities and society (PR-C instead of PR-F: . Positive risk communication instead of free public relations that we get in the event of a major accident ).
