Summary

• A safety management system keeps workers safe from injuries and illnesses by putting your safety plans, policy and procedures into practice effectively and consistently.
• A safety management system differs from a plan in that it is active in preventing incidents, not just outlining the policies and processes used to mitigate potential risks.
• Ready to go software based solutions for safety management are a highly effective choice for most sizes of business
• Regardless of the system used, the key driver of safety success is the attitude of those involved in the safety process (from the coal face to the CEO)

Introduction

A safety management system is crucial to putting your work health and safety plans, policies and procedures into practice on a day-to-day basis. Further, it serves as the main tool for preventing safety incidents in the future using data collected from your work activities day to day.

Safety management systems are important for all sectors of businesses as every workplace has inherent risks that need to be mitigated. Every workplace is exposed to some form of risk, whether it be psychological, physical, chemical, electrical etc.

In this article we will cover what a safety management system is, why they are important and outline what makes a quality safety management system. Further, we also discuss why we believe an active safety software is the best choice for businesses and why most fail to achieve safety success with their software.

What is a safety management system?

In a workplace health and safety management system, policies, procedures and plans are put in place to systematically manage health and safety at work and to reduce the risk of injuries and illnesses that can occur on the job.

Policies and procedures that meet work health and safety requirements (Such as a safety management plan) help an organization comply with their duties and responsibilities under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. But simply having the documents in a file somewhere is not enough for true safety, nor compliance.

A workplace health and safety management system encompasses much more than just compliance procedures and policies. Rather, the goal is achieving the written measures and contents of your safety documentation, policies and procedures in an ongoing and managed way. Which means making the workplace safe, not just complaint.

In essence, a safety management system is an easier, faster and more effective way to meet your WHS regulatory requirements and genuinely keep your workers safe with an active safety process.

In terms of protecting people from harm and achieving safety goals, a systems-based approach is essential to achieving the most out of your safety documentation. A quality safety management system should:

• continuously evolve and adapt to the circumstances
• use feedback to actively improve safety related outcomes, before they happen
• build on existing health and safety processes with data from the real world
• integrate with other management systems
• provide more informed decision making at each level of the firm
• actively strengthen safety culture and demonstrates due diligence

While it is possible to create a safety management system framework using template documents, a folder and spreadsheets (either digital or physical), we are convinced that the most effective way to truly keep people safe is with software specifically designed for the task.

For the rest of this article, we will be referring to software based solutions.

Why safety management software is important?

A safety management system is important for ensuring the most effective implementation of your safety management plans, procedures and policies. Additionally, a well-structured, easy to use system will remove the friction of your entire safety process meaning you can focus on getting the work done safely without the worry of non-compliance.

Here are some of the reasons why a quality safety management system is important for construction businesses:

• Decreases your risk of litigation from non-compliance, especially in the monitor & review stages: Because you have a documented process that is followed for each step of the risk assessment process you are more likely to hold up to an audit or worse, an investigation following an incident. Further, with software you not only capture the process but also have recorded proof of accountability for any reviews or actions made.

• Decrease workplace incidents: By taking real world data and feedback from active site workers, those responsible for their safety are given the insight they need to make well informed decisions on workers safety in real time. A quality system will make it much easier to look ahead to preventing the next incident before it happens, not after.

• Capture, store & share safety documents: Safety documents like risk assessments, Job Safety Assessments (JSA), Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) are very easy to lose in the physical form, making it likely that you could be caught out with non-compliance if workers on site do not have access to it. A software safety system allows workers to access what they need, when they need it, wherever they are. Plus, a software solution gives a direct channel from the worker to the safety officer to share changes to any safety documentation without a timely delay.

The SafeWorkPro platform can help you to achieve all of the above. Learn more about how combining document submission and push notifications is the perfect mix for overcoming missed document submissions.

Above all else, a safety management system serves as the tool used to keep people safe. Simple. At the end of the day, what is important is not the system itself, but the motivation to keep people safe. A top quality safety management system is nothing more than another tool without the right safety attitude and culture.

Example of Safety Management Software

SafeWorkPro is a class-leading example of safety management software, paired with safety support from experts who were once on the tools. The SafeWorkPro platform was originally developed for use in our founder’s business, an electrical contracting business based in Brisbane, Australia. SafeWorkPro solved the problems Steven Cole faced daily in his own business, settling for nothing lower than excellence in safety culture. Our platform has been continuously improving safety in Cole Contracting for over 7 years.

Now, SafeWorkPro is used in businesses of all sizes and types from sole contractors to large scale manufacturing plants (from plastics to food) and has actively prevented countless safety incidents, before they occurred.

We pride ourselves on safety for the sake of preventing incidents and saving lives, not just compliance with regulations. We want to transform safety in business, taking it back to the grassroots of human risk management psychology. By enabling a seamless experience for workers on the ground paired with intuitive and active management platform, we help your whole organization achieve a safer workplace, every day.