If safety is simply not the absence of injuries or unwanted events but rather the attitude, behaviours, processes and procedures that assure us that these things don’t happen what are the means by which this occurs?  The development of the "management system” concept in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez disaster is a core process by which safety is assured and the outcome of the unwanted incidents eliminated.  The management system is the key “process” to achieve the desired outcome and is the proactive answer to the question “Are your safety results achieved through good luck or good management?"

One of the core questions surrounding every management system is to what is it to be applied to.  Is the management system soley applicable to the Operations of the business, the activities that create the products of the organization (i.e. big “O” operations)?  Or does the mangement system apply to all the activities of the business (including staff functions) and the critical operations associated with those activities as well (i.e. small “o” operations)?  To answer this question is to ask what is the purpose of the management system in your enterprise.  One must answer the question if you are interested in assuring the positive outcome of all critical operations in your business or is your management system primarily interested in only preventing safety related incidents?  The most disciplined organizations tend to support the latter argument, as do processes like ISO 9000, Toyota Production System and Total Quality Management.  These organizations view the critical operations in their business like, payroll, recruiting, accounts receivable / payable and the need to do these things right each time, every time as critical to their reputation and brand.  Can you imagine for a moment if the approval of a large capital expenditure in the organization did not follow the delegation of authority guidelines and the company committed to a significant investment without the right level of review and approval?  Or if anyone in the firm could decide to speak openly with media about the business?  Controls are necessary to assure the reptuation of the organization and that decisions are made at the right level and by the right person.  And that all the critical operations of the business can have a material impact to the brand, reputation and business of the organizaiton and as such these need to fall within the scope of the management system.

The name of the management system and how it applies to your business is relatively immaterial.  It represents the framework and discipline associated with how things get done within the business and how the desired outcomes are assured.  One cannot simply hope for the desired outcomes, one must create the structure, processes, and discipline to assure the desired outcomes can be achieved.  Good management requires it