Safety Management Systems

My qualifications in safety management are a Graduate Diploma in Occupational Hazard Management from Ballarat University.

Refer to the papers What Makes a Safety Management System Fly and S.M.S.-Draft Recommendations For Discussion With The Executive Team on web-site ohschange.com.au

Standards must be developed for the safety management system e.g. Visitor safety, contractor safety, compliance with statute law, use of personal protective equipment, management commitment, hazard identification/risk assessment, safe working procedures, loss prevention &control, employee involvement, emergency procedures, accident investigation, education/communication, inspections, health & fitness, injury management, etc and compliance with these standards must be audited.

In the last 5 years of my time with BHP-Coal we introduced a robust safety management system which consisted of “low probability-high consequence” risk management programs, 18 internal standards of OHS excellence and the National Occupational Safety Association (N.O.S.A.) safety management system. I was fully involved in the strategic and operational implementation of these systems, which included policy development, plan preparation, training, auditing, inspecting, coaching, mentoring and review. Compliance with legislation was part of the approach but we aimed to far exceed these requirements. Whilst being aware of the limitations of L.T.I.F.R. it is worth noting L.T.I.F.R. dropped from 80 to 10 and there were significant decreases in compensation premium costs.

N.O.S.A. failure elsewhere but success in Brisbane office /Caloundra / Skillstech

My critically-reflective paper “What Makes a Safety Management System Fly” has received International recognition(published by the American Safety Engineering Society in an International Safety Best-Practice publication, used a part of an OHS course at the University of New Brunswick, Canada) and is what I use to advise senior management on how to develop strategic and operational Safety Management Systems .The Safety Management System must be backed up with well discussed, agreed, strategic and operational Safety Management Plans.