RE: Safety Culture

["Michael P. Grissom" <mikeg@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>]

Sandy, Jeff, Franz, et al.,

Safety culture in the DOE world is designed
to:

"Achieve and maintain excellence in matters
of environmental concern and provide for the
safety and health of the organization's staff
and the public."

Guiding Principles for Integrated Safety
Management

The "Guiding Principles for Integrated Safety
Management" (ISM) outlined in DOE P 450.4, Safety
Management System Policy, to the extent that they
are effective in defining an organization's Safety
Management System (SMS).

I.  Line Management Responsibility for Safety, Roles
    and Responsibilities

    o  Competence Commensurate with Responsibilities
    o  Balanced Priorities
    o  Identification of Safety Standards and Requirements
    o  Hazard Controls Tailored to Work Being Performed

II. Operations Authorization

    The assurance that all hazardous work has been
    accounted for in detailed procedures, technical
    basis documents, training, etc., before the work
    is done.

III. Core Functions for Integrated Safety Management

    The five Core Functions for ISM comprise the SMS.

    1.  Define Scope of Work
    2.  Identify and Analyze Hazards
    3.  Develop and Implement Hazard Controls
    4.  Perform Work Within The Controls
    5.  Provide Feedback Improve Safety Management

IV. Integrated Safety Management - Mechanisms

    The organization's Self Assessment and Quality
    Assurance Programs are designed to identify the
    workplace safety issues of highest concern and
    safety program deficiencies and to correct them
    in a timely manner.  The issues identified are
    tracked through a Corrective Action Management
    System (CAMS).

V.  Responsibilities for Integrated Safety Management

    Although the ultimate responsibility for safety
    is the individual preforming the work, line
    supervisory personnel in the management
    organization have specified roles and
    responsibilities as well.

VI. Implementation of Integrated Safety Management

    At least in DOE, some specific methods of
    implementation must be identified.  These could
    include management organization, safety culture
    initiatives (such as behavior based safety),
    involvement of workers in safety committees, and
    involvement of workers in the development of
    procedures with safety as a key element.

Having noted all of the above (a condensation of a
great deal of text), most organizations have some
sort of management structure that does all of these
things.  How well they are done varies greatly, and
even if all are fully in place (as was observed in an
earlier posting) there can be no assurance that no
accidents/incidents will take place in the future.
Presumably, an organization with all of these factors in
place would have a significant reduction in the incidence
rate of accidents/incidents (minimization of
vulnerability).

My interpretation of other's opinions!

S.,

MikeG.

At 12:04 PM 7/18/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Jeff Eichorts said:
>
>>  The corporate structure MUST include provisions to hold people
>>  accountable for their ...
>
>Admiral Rickover stated,  and rightly so,  (and I had it on a plaque 
>which is still sitting in FL),  that someone must always be 
>responsible, and accountable. You can't run from it, it is always 
>there. One can NOT delegate away accountability... 


Michael P. Grissom
Asst Dir (ES&H)
SLAC MS-84
Phone: (415) 926-2346
Fax:   (415) 926-3030
E-mail: mikeg@slac.stanford.edu