• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Safety Risk .net

Humanising Safety and Embracing Real Risk

  • Home
    • About
      • Privacy Policy
      • Contact
  • FREE RESOURCES
    • FREE SAFETY eBOOKS
    • FREE DOWNLOADS
    • TOP 50
    • FREE RISK ASSESSMENT FORMS
    • Find a Safety Consultant
    • Free Safety Program Documents
    • Psychology Of Safety
    • Safety Ideas That Work
    • HEALTH and SAFETY MANUALS
    • FREE SAFE WORK METHOD STATEMENT RESOURCES
    • Whats New In Safety
    • FUN SAFETY STUFF
    • Health and Safety Training
    • SAFETY COURSES
    • Safety Training Needs Analysis and Matrix
    • Top 20 Safety Books
    • This Toaster Is Hot
    • Free Covid-19 Toolbox Talks
    • Download Page – Please Be Patient With Larger Files…….
    • SAFETY IMAGES, Photos, Unsafe Pictures and Funny Fails
    • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators
    • Download Safety Moments from Human Resources Secretariat
  • PSYCHOLOGY OF SAFETY & RISK
    • Safety Psychology Terminology
    • Some Basics on Social Psychology & Risk
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk – Prof Karl E. Weick
    • The Psychology of Leadership in Risk
    • Conducting a Psychology and Culture Safety Walk
    • The Psychology of Conversion – 20 Tips to get Started
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk And Safety
    • Psychology and safety
    • The Psychology of Safety
    • Hot Toaster
    • TALKING RISK VIDEOS
    • WHAT IS SAFETY
    • THE HOT TOASTER
    • THE ZERO HARM DEBATE
    • SEMIOTICS
    • LEADERSHIP
  • Covid-19
    • COVID-19 (Coronavirus, Omicron) Health and Safety Slogans and Quotes for the Workplace
    • Covid-19 Returning to Work Inductions, Transitioning, Safety Start Up and Re Entry Plans
    • Covid-19 Work from Home Safety Checklists and Risk Assessments
    • The Hierarchy of Control and Covid-19
    • Why Safety Loves Covid-19
    • Covid-19, Cricket and Lessons in Safety
    • The Covid-19 Lesson
    • Safety has this Covid-19 thing sorted
    • The Heart of Wisdom at Covid Time
    • How’s the Hot Desking Going Covid?
    • The Semiotics of COVID-19 and the Social Amplification of Risk
    • Working From Home Health and Safety Tips – Covid-19
    • Covid-19 and the Hierarchy of Control
  • Dr Rob Long Posts
    • Learning Styles Matter
    • There is no HIERARCHY of Controls
    • Scaffolding, Readiness and ZPD in Learning
    • What Can Safety Learn From Playschool?
    • Presentation Tips for Safety People
    • Dialogue Do’s and Don’ts
    • It’s Only a Symbol
    • Ten Cautions About Safety Checklists
    • Zero is Unethical
    • First Report on Zero Survey
    • There is No Objectivity, Deal With it!
  • Quotes & Slogans
    • Researchers Reveal the Top 10 Most Effective Safety Slogans Of All Time
    • When Slogans Don’t Work
    • 77 OF THE MOST CLASSIC, FAMOUS and INFAMOUS SAFETY QUOTES
    • 500 BEST and WORST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2021
    • 167 CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
    • COVID-19 (Coronavirus, Omicron) Health and Safety Slogans and Quotes for the Workplace
    • Safety Acronyms
    • You know Where You Can Stick Your Safety Slogans
    • Sayings, Slogans, Aphorisms and the Discourse of Simple
    • Spanish Safety Slogans – Consignas de seguridad
    • Safety Slogans List
    • Road Safety Slogans
    • How to write your own safety slogans
    • Why Are Safety Slogans Important
    • Safety Slogans Don’t Save Lives
    • 40 Free Safety Slogans For the Workplace
    • Safety Slogans for Work
You are here: Home / Safety systems / ‘Paper Systems’ and Safety Management Systems

‘Paper Systems’ and Safety Management Systems

August 2, 2017 by Admin Leave a Comment

‘Paper Systems’ and Safety Management Systems

By Matt Thorne from WHS Concepts

paper tiger safetyI have been consulting in risk and safety in Adelaide for over 10 years and am often asked to help ‘revitalise’ an organisations Safety Management System. Most people contact me about ‘risk and safety issues’ but people rarely understand either what the problem is or where to start. So they start at systems and this seems to make sense.

An organisation that asked for help has 15 employees doing highly specialised work so they needed compliance to AS/NZS ISO 9001, 14001 and 18001, so they could operate with some Tier 1 building companies.

In my first meeting the questioning started with: ‘What is a safety management system’? ‘What does it look like’? and, ‘How big does it have to be’? There is nothing unusual here, this is generally where I start with small to medium businesses. Most often they simply want to comply but don’t know where to start. One thing that stands out is and is common, is that people remain are confused by all the fear mongering and snake oil being peddled in the risk and safety market. It seems remarkable that this level of heightened confusion continues and is even propagated by the safety sector itself. The level of myth making and anxiety making is astounding. Most think that all systems have to be paper-based systems and that systems are only systems if they are written down.

So, let’s dispel a few myths around paperwork.

· There need to be reams of paperwork to make an SMS valid. In fact, the more paperwork you have, the harder it is to understand your management system. Your management system needs to be understandable and useable, by the board, managing director and any employees who utilise it. There is no evidence to show that a 15 kg SMS is any more valid or effective than a 3 kg SMS. Most regulators are asking employers to just keep Safe Work Method Statements to just a few pages and only to document SWMS for high risk tasks. It’s finally dawned on people that creating a ‘tick and flick’ culture actually makes the workplace less safe.

· Paperwork will save my arse in court. Hit the panic button people. Paperwork will most likely be the thing that hangs you in court. As Greg Smith states: ‘sometimes your paperwork is your biggest legal liability’. Of course Greg tells us that the court knows the uselessness of systems that are not useable and calls these ‘paper systems’. If at any stage the paperwork is not filled out correctly, or doesn’t reflect what you actually do, you are simply compiling a data base that can be used to demonstrate a lack of Due Diligence.

· A comprehensive management system will help create the safety culture that we need. It has been shown time and time again that the bigger the system, the larger the failure. People make a culture, not a system. Systems are only one small part of culture, systems are not culture.

· Paperwork will show that we are consultative. One of the big problems here is that many organisations either buy a generic SMS or copy a SMS from another organisation. Switching brands on a poor SMS simply makes it a poor SMS with a new badge. Unfortunately for organisations that do this, it all unravels in court when people demonstrate that the SMS was not used except for a door stop or collected dust on a shelf

· Management Systems rely totally on paperwork. I am delighted to announce that this is not necessarily the case. There are businesses out there who run low level paper systems, because their culture and management strategy. They have a low staff turnover and so knowledge is easily retained, and they constantly discuss how work is performed, and everybody is consulted before anything is changed. They can all tell you, in their own style, how their system runs. In such organisations risks are managed through consultation and effective communication, reflection, dialogue and conversation. Most often if they do have to appear in court, their testimonies are consistent and sufficient to demonstrate systems effectiveness.

· Paperwork will keep me in a job. This is getting further away from the truth as Boards of Directors start getting savvy as to what a Safety Management System should look like. The futility of the endless take 5 being entered into systems, costing hours of labour, and not actually showing any discernment in risk, it is at best a ‘tick and flick’ exercise and as a result contributes to making the workers less intelligent about risk.

· Paperwork will protect my workers. A sad truth of most of the paperwork out there is that it often causes the opposite effect. Workers are surrounded by so much ‘safety cosmetics’ they become blind to real risk and develop hubris (overconfidence) and this gives them a false sense of security.

· My paperwork is understood by everyone that works for my company. Would you like to bet your job on it? The industries that carry the most risk such as farming, mining, transport and construction, are a workforce that is more inclined to the verbal than the written. The expectation that everyone will fully comprehend everything that is put in front of them is naïve at best. All people are individuals and have a variety of needs, I know a truckie that can quote Byron, a carpenter that can play violin, but they will run at the sight of book, they get their information from radio, television and multimedia. Most of these workers are visual and verbal learners yet the common strategy is to flood them with paper-based systems.

So, where does this leave us with Safety Management Systems.

· We need to be able to communicate on various levels, to a multitude of audiences. The focus needs to be on skill development not more forms and checklists.

· We need to focus more on skills in effective communication, listening, observation and consultation. You simply don’t get such skills in any WHS qualification I know.

· Systems need to be understood more as ‘what we do’ rather than ‘what we have written down’.

· A system needs to be understood as a flexible process that allows for mistakes, innovation and change.

So after a session with the organisation leadership they were relieved that I wasn’t about to thrust the Encyclopaedia Britannica on them or spend 30 days creating a system so large no one could use it. Instead I spent a day or two just watching what they did and worked out what their system was and what things required documentation. They were surprised by just how much they were doing well and how little needed to be documented.

Please share our posts

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Safety systems Tagged With: paperwork

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search and Discover More on this Site

Visit Count – Started Jan 2015

  • 24,021,870 Visitors

Never miss a post - Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,426 other subscribers

NEW! Free Download

How we pay for the high cost of running of this site – try it for free on your site

Please take our 2 minute zero survey

Recent Comments

  • Mark Wayne Arboso on 500 BEST and WORST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2021
  • Roel on Free Workplace Health and Safety Downloads
  • Rob Long on Safety Silences – Video Series
  • BRENT R CHARLTON on Safety Silences – Video Series
  • Rob Long on Sleep Dysfunction, Dreaming and Safety
  • Rob Long on Working Out What Makes Sense in Safety
  • simon cassin on Working Out What Makes Sense in Safety
  • Rob Long on The Safety Trifecta and Nothing Changes
  • Aneta Parker on The Safety Trifecta and Nothing Changes
  • Rob Long on How to Tackle Risk You Can’t See

FREE eBOOK DOWNLOADS

Recent Posts

  • Culture Silences in Safety – Holism
  • Culture Silences in Safety The Collective Unconscious
  • Culture Silences in Safety Artefacts
  • Culture Silences in Safety Symbolism
  • Culture Silences in Safety Mythology
  • The Safety Trifecta and Nothing Changes
  • Sleep Dysfunction, Dreaming and Safety
  • Working Out What Makes Sense in Safety
  • How to Tackle Risk You Can’t See
  • Study Reveals an Unexpected Side Effect of Traffic Safety Messages

What is Psychological Safety at Work?

Footer

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,426 other subscribers

AUTHORS

  • Alan Quilley
    • Heinrich–Industrial Accident Prevention
    • The Problem With ZERO Goals and Results
  • Bernard Corden
    • After the goldrush
    • The Internationale
  • Bill Sims
    • Employee Engagement: Chocolate, Vanilla, or Strawberry?
    • Injury Hiding-How do you stop it?
  • Craig Clancy
    • Task Based vs Activity Based Safe Work Method Statements
    • Safety And Tender Submissions
  • Daniel Kirk
    • It’s easy being wise after the event.
    • A Positive Safety Story
  • Dave Whitefield
    • Safety is about…
    • Safety and Compliance
  • Dennis Millard
    • Are You Risk Intelligent?
    • Honey they get me! They get me at work!
  • Drewie
    • Downturn Doin’ Your Head In? Let’s Chat….
    • How was your break?
  • Gabrielle Carlton
    • All Care and No Care!
    • You Are Not Alone!
  • George Robotham
    • How to Give an Unforgettable Safety Presentation
    • How To Write a Safety Report
  • Goran Prvulovic
    • Safety Manager – an Ultimate Scapegoat
    • HSE Performance – Back to Basics
  • James Ellis
    • Psychological Core Stability for Wellbeing in Workers Comp
    • In search of plan B in workers’ recovery
  • James Parkinson
    • To laugh or not to laugh
    • People and Safety
  • John Toomey
    • In it for The Long Haul – Making the most of the FIFO Lifestyle
    • Who is Responsible for This?
  • Karl Cameron
    • Abby Normal Safety
    • The Right Thing
  • Ken Roberts
    • Safety Legislation Is Our Biggest Accident?
    • HSE Trip Down Memory Lane
  • Mark Perrett
    • Psychology of Persuasion: Top 5 influencing skills for getting what you want
  • Mark Taylor
    • Build a Psychologically Safe Workplace by Taking Risks and Analysing Failures
    • Enculturing Safety
  • Max Geyer
    • WHS Legislation is NOT about Safety it’s about Culture
    • Due Diligence Is Not Just Ticking Boxes!
  • Matt Thorne
    • Safety Culture–Hudson’s Model
    • Culture – Edgar Schein
  • Peter Ribbe
    • Is there “Common Sense” in safety?
    • Who wants to be a safety professional?
  • Phil LaDuke
    • Professional Conferences Are A Sleazy Con
    • Hey Idiots, You’re Worried About the Wrong Things
  • Admin
    • Study Reveals an Unexpected Side Effect of Traffic Safety Messages
    • Humanising Leadership in Risk, Shifting the Focus from Objects to Persons
  • Dr Rob Long
    • Culture Silences in Safety – Holism
    • Culture Silences in Safety The Collective Unconscious
  • Rob Sams
    • The Learning (and unlearning) that Revealed my Vocation
    • I’m just not that into safety anymore
  • Barry Spud
    • Things To Consider When Developing And Designing Your Company SWMS
    • Bad Safety Photos
  • Sheri Suckling
    • How Can I Get the Boss to Listen?
  • Simon Cassin
    • Safety values, ideas, behaviours and clothes
  • Safety Nerd
    • The Block isn’t portraying safety as it should be
    • Toolbox Talk Show–PPE
  • Wynand Serfontein
    • Why The Problem With Learning Is Unlearning
    • I DON’T KNOW
  • Zoe Koskinas
    • Why is fallibility so challenging in the workplace?

Most commented on

The Unconscious and the Soap Dispenser

Forecasting Safety

The Banned Objects Index – A New Development in Safety Culture

Dumbs for Safety

The Real Barriers to Safety

Safety as Faith Healing

Who Said We Don’t Need Systems?

How to use signs, symbols and text effectively in communicating about risk

Why Safety Controls Don’t Always Work

Safety Should NOT Be About Safety

FEATURED POSTS

Framing Folly and Fantasy in Safety

Like a Rhizome Cowboy

Tattoos, Taboos and The Risk of Permanence

Towards Dumb

Safety is not Just a Choice

Safety as a Knowledge Culture

No Evidence for the Religion of Zero

A Small Change and ‘Y’ it Matters?

Safety – Just a Few Bad Apples

EGO is not a dirty word

Safety – Learning by Doing and Learning by Theory

Safety Myopia

People Skills Are Not Soft Skills

Risk and Safety Starts with Being?

The Psychology of Conversion – 20 Tips to get Started

Don’t Hold the Hand Rail

SPoR Quarterly Newsletter September 2021

No Help for Mental Health in Zero

Risk as a ‘Leap of Faith’

Third Group Commences the Graduate Program in The Psychology of Risk

More Posts from this Category

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,426 other subscribers

How we pay for the high cost of running of this site – try it for free on your site

 

How To Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer

 

 

How to Make your own Covid-19 Face Mask

 

Covid-19 Returning To Work Safety, Transitioning, Start Up And Re Entry Plans

 

How’s the Hot Desking Going Covid?

imageOne of the benefits of the Covid-19 epidemic is a total rethink about how we live and work (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-28/coronavirus-could-reshape-how-australians-work-forever/12097124 ).

Expertise by Regurgitation and Re-Badging

One of the fascinating things about the Coronavirus pandemic is watching Safety morph into epidemiology expertise. I would like a dollar for every flyer, presentation, podcast, powerpoint, checklist template, toolbox talk and poster set that had jumped into my inbox… Read the rest

The Stress of Stasis

One of the challenging things about the Coronavirus crisis is stasis. For those without work and confined to home, for those in self-isolation, it’s like life is frozen in time. ‘Stay at home’ is the mantra. The trouble is, in… Read the rest

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.