Kennedy Culminating Experience

Health, Safety and Environmental Cultures in the UK

Introduction

In the last decade, companies' management has widely agreed on the importance of the implementation and certification of structured management systems, such as quality management systems, environment management systems, and recently, occupational health and safety (OH&S) management systems (NP 4397, 2001). The implementation of such systems requires that companies can be able to measure their results and achievements concerning each particular system.

Health, Safety and Environmental Cultures in the UK

As a part of the OH&S management system, the performance measure is as important as other issues, such as financial, production or service delivery management. As mentioned previously, measuring performance is an integrated part of any management system (Figure 1), and has several goals. As far as it concerns OH&S management systems, the safety performance measurement (SPM) can provide information, help in introspection, in decision-making, and in addressing different information needs (HSE, 2001).

The primary purpose of SPM is to provide information on the progress and current status of the strategies, processes and activities used by an organization to control risks to OH&S. Measurement information sustains the operation and development of the OH&S management system, and consequently risk control, by providing information on how the system operates in practice, identifying areas where remedial action is required, establishing a basis for continual improvement and providing feedback and motivation.

As a way for introspection, SPM should seek to answer questions, such as: What is the position relative to the overall OH&S aims and objectives? How is the company in comparison with others? Does the management system improve the OH&S? Is the management of OH&S effective? Is the OH&S management reliable? Is the OH&S management efficient? Is the company culture supportive of OH&S, particularly pressed by competing demands?

These questions should be asked not only at the highest level but also at the different management levels and across the organization. The aim should be to provide a complete picture of the organization's OH&S performance.

In what concerns decision making the measurement information helps in deciding what goals can be achieved in relation to the initial proposal, what progress is needed and reasonable to expect in some circumstances, how it might be achieved against particular restraints (for example resources or time), and how to prioritize and have an effective use of resources.

The type of information achieved by SPM is of primary importance for people in organizations who have particular responsibilities within the OH&S management system. These will include directors, senior managers, line managers, supervisors, OH&S professionals and employees/safety representatives.

It is also important to have an overall coherence in approach so that individual measuring activities are aligned within the overall performance measurement framework. As a matter of fact, this coherence should result in a hierarchical set of linked measures which reflect the organization's structure. Because performance measures should be derived principally to meet an internal need, there will be a limit to the number which can be used meaningfully from organization to organization (i.e. for external benchmarking purposes) rather than within the context ...