History of Safety System Management - Research Paper Example

 History of System Safety Management Introduction System Safety Management is a planned, verifiable and documented method which helps in managing associated risks and hazards. For an organization System Safety Management is a very essential component because it involves an organized approach towards safety management including policies, procedures, accountabilities and necessary organizational structures. The historic evolution of System Safety Management was from a random collection of activities or best practices that promoted safety and security in extensive varieties of industrial contexts. The various contexts of safety management were later arranged and grouped together in order to ensure optimum safety and welfare of employees and other people in an organization. Previously the government inspectors were given the power to ensure safety and security of employees working in an organization. The organizations had to assure government that any incident that might occur in an organization would be taken care of after the requirement of safety management was understood by people. Historical Evidences Safety Management moved in the later part of 1970 from a tactic that motivated on prescriptive legislation and adherence, to an approach that aimed on an organization taking accountability for its own risk management in a unique style. During the eighteenth century however safety management was not a big concern for industrialists. The main motive behind working of an industry was maximum output capacity of a particular plant. The employee concern and safety of people working in an organization was implemented at a very high level during 1950s after the World War II. In the year 1976 an industrial disaster occurred in a chemical processing plant. Due to release of highly toxic dioxins, many people lost their life in Seveso. This disaster definitely had a huge impact on the people working in different chemical plants during the period. This disaster also became the reason to ensure employee safety for all chemical plants. During 1986 another accident occurred in an Oil and Natural Gas production unit which caused huge loss of life. In this environment Safety System Management emerged in order to maintain the health and safety issues for different organizations. Evolution of Safety Management has basically begun from the aviation industry. Early aviation pioneers had very little safety measures and subjective knowledge. The main reason behind lack of knowledge was new technology implementation without upgrading employee knowledge and training. Due to this reason accidents and mishaps were very common however employee safety is one of the most important concerns in the modern world and this led the organizations to reform and applies proper technological advancement in employee safety and security measures. After the implementation of Safety System Management the organizations were recognized in front of government. In order to overcome the challenges occurred from risks working in an organization several rules had to be implemented and adhered so that employee safety could be enriched. International Labor Organization was formed in the year 2001 with certain set of rules and guidelines both employee and the management of the organizations had to follow (Gabbar & Suzuki, 2005). The safety management basic components during this period were Evaluation, Policy, Organizing reports, Action for improvement and Planning and implementation. Although other Safety programs used different terminology but the process and working of the management systems were almost the same. The most important reason for development of these processes was ensuring safety and security for everyone in a working environment. Analysis The Safety System Management evolution process is explicitly divided into three parts. Fragile System The Fragile system is referred to the period of 1920-1970. During this period industrialization had just begun and due to lack of proper knowledge of operating machines many accidents were encountered. The industrialists during this period mainly worried about the output from their industries because they had the motive of earning huge amount of money until they find a different business prospective. Employee safety was very low during the 1920s and 1930s (Mol, 2013). However in the later part of the period after 1940s safety measures were taken seriously and some factors were implemented for safety of workers in organizations. There was a gradual shift of motive of people working in different organizations regarding their health and safety issues. Industries in order to avoid protests had to incorporate certain safety measures so that the working environment can become suitable for every employee working in the organizations. In the later part of this period some of the organizations started to give more focus on the employee safety and this led to the initiation of the next period in terms of Safety Management. Safe System During the year 1970-1990 the System Safety Management process had undergone a different phase of improvement from employee perspectives. Almost all the Organizations implemented new technologies and it was mandatory to train employees properly before they were exposed to use modern machines (Manuele, 2014). Any kind of incident small or big was brought in notice of the government inspectors so that they could decide on the continuation of an Organizations work after the incident. This period was definitely better than the previous times because previously inspectors only used to visit an organization to check safety measures after any accident occurred. Another important factor was the change of vision of management towards their employees. The management of many organizations had some significant changes during this period. Due to location of companies in more than one country they had to follow the political culture and culture of people. This became a positive reason for organizations because the management system and employee relations worked at the same pace in order to gain maximum efficiency and ensuring safety. Ultra-safe System The modern Organizational structure is an example of ultra-safe system. In the present organizational structure there is a level of employee group who are responsible to maintain employee safety in the organization. Most of the organizations have this kind of system. The System Safety Management process has gradually upgraded and it has been observed over a period of time that ensuring safety and security of employees is very essential because employees can only work with their full dedication if they do-not have fear in their mind working for an organization. From 1990 onwards the System Safety Management has become stronger and due to advancement of modern technology and knowledge systems working process has become easier and less-hectic compared to early industrial phases. Certainly the development process between 1970 and 1990 in terms of Safety Management was very important (Roughton, 2013). The transitions in the Safety systems are nothing but a gradual evolution in the process of safety management so that employee health and safety can be made the main reason for organizations. Due to up gradation of the process the work culture in organizations are better and safety parameter has also been raised which has changed the face of the working class in organizations. Findings From the above analysis it is clear that System safety Management has evolved in a distinct way in organizations. Multi-national organizations have set a work to offshore Safety Management Systems in the world. For an example, Some Oil and Gas companies were forced by the governmental organization to set a work for the off-shore safety development process by working together in U.K. Companies like Shell decided to work in its own work-culture and set a safety measure for the onshore as well as the offshore developments. They wanted their employees to take decisions instead of being forced by others. This shows the degree of measures incorporated by management in the modern world in order to preserve employee interest and ensure health and safety working in organizations. Most of the Organizations have medical center within their campus because they do-not want employees to lose their life because of small negligence. The most important processes indulged in Safety Management are Identification of risks, assessing the hazards, managing or controlling the hazards and recovery from hazards instantly after it has occurred. These are the most important factors that various organizations take care of while maintaining safety. Employee safety in an organization depends upon a lot of factors including employee participation in the System Safety Management. In order to provide employees with the maximum level of Safety measures organizations should take proper initiatives to train their employees so that they can learn to work in a safe environment. Conclusion Based on the above discussions it has been observed that System Safety Management is one of the most important concerns before Organizations in the modern world. The subject was not taken seriously in early times because of which many accidents were encountered. Due to negligence of Safety Management Systems in the early part of nineteenth century the working classes in the organizations were not satisfied with the working environment. However in the modern world due to implementation of new technologies the Safety System has been improved. Accidents in Organizations have reduced a lot and the management of different of different Organizations look forward towards development of new policies that could bring more safety and security for every person working in an Organization. Hence it can be said that System Safety Management is one of the most important factors that regulates working atmosphere of Organizations and positive steps should be incorporated to upgrade safety systems in the world. References Gabbar, A. H., & Suzuki, K. (2005). The Design of a practical safety management system. New York: Springer. Manuele, F. (2014). Advanced Safety Management. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Mol, T. (2003). Productive Safety Management. London: Routledge. Roughton, J. (2013). Safety Culture. New York: Butterworth- Heinemann. Read More