In my experience, I have come to understand two (2) SMS/PSMS elements need to be first in line for development and implementation, as these two (2) elements are critical in the early days of developing and implementing a formal/structured SMS/PSMS.

What would your two (2) elements be?

My two are:

1) Auditing

2) Incident Management (reporting, investigation, causal analysis, corrective action plans)

Anyone who has worked with me throughout my career can vouch for this. I learned this very early on, both from my mentors and through hard knocks.

These two (2) elements are also the two we weigh the most in assessing the maturity and seriousness of management's commitment to the safety of the men and women doing our dirty and dangerous work. Many people will view this as “looking backward” rather than focusing on proactive elements. But trust me, an organization that is not auditing its controls/barriers/safeguards to verify their use and validate their effectiveness is NOT serious about safety.

As for the Incident Reporting element, this element can create a LEARNING culture when managed properly (i.e., doing causal analyses with a recognized methodology rather than being a witch hunt or blaming exercise). We then use this element as part of our HAZARD ID exercise; yes, it is after the event, but LEARNING from the event and identifying how we can best improve the controls/barriers/safeguards to reduce the future risks is what the intent of an SMS is all about.

But when we find an organization that chooses to do neither of these fundamental SMS/PSMS elements PROPERLY and DAILY, we can see through all the signs and rhetoric and understand what management truly says about its commitment to these men and women. And it “ain’t pretty.”