All entries for Friday 06 June 2014

Safety Management Systems

Health & Safety is no doubt an important aspect of an organization, although the degree of that may vary in different industries, such as a financial company or an aviation company.

I've had some exposure to the safety management system manuals, and its very technical, although some things can be practical.

But I want to point out, after talking to a safety aviation expert, is the importance of transparency. This is not appropriately covered so far in our readings, but it is something that has a very high impact on the business as well. Creating a culture of transparency and honesty, where mistakes are reported, is so crucial to the health and safety of employees and its customers as well, such as if I accidentally dropped a screw into a commercial airplane's jet engine. If I had a boss who is just ruthless and creates a cutlure of fear, I might try to avoid getting scolded or kicked out, and try to resolve the matter myself, not following strict procedures or even avoiding the problem entirely, what happens is hundreds of people can die, and this is actually a true case on a commercial flight, where a simple screw killed everyone on board.

So surely this might sound extreme, but when the health & safety mechanisms fail, extreme isn't a rarity.

Therefore, I encourage everyone to explore this area of health & safety as well, the transparency culture and a workforce ridded of fear, where if a mistake is made, the employee will report it, and go even further by suggesting ways of ensuring it doesn't happen again, thus making the place an even safer place in the end.

Shujaat Alikhan : 06 Jun 2014 23:46 |  Tags: Hse Kbam Mbe Saftey She Sms |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem