Safety Designs and Reducing Risk

The Safety Design Review Process

The safety design review process is a planned and systematic procedure for identifying potential hazards, assessing the risk, and determining the effectiveness of risk control measures to ensure the safety of people using the process plant’s equipment and employees (Buchanan & Abu, 2017).

An effective design review procedure increases the possibility of increased project performance, which increases the likelihood of project success. Additionally, it lessens the likelihood of budget overruns, timetable delays, and quality and safety compromises.

The safety design evaluation process employs a variety of techniques. The HAZOP study is the most used technique. However, in the entire lifecycle of a project, other safety review approaches are used including fire safety review, pre-start-up safety review, quantitative risk assessment which are carried out at various stages of the project.

Role and Importance of Safety in a Safety Management System

The role and importance of safety in a safety management system include reduction of incidents. Safety procedures help in minimizing workplace incidences. Employee guidebooks or manuals are used by many businesses to educate and inform workers of safety procedures (Hollnagel, 2014).

Managers help in the enforcement of the safety procedures by reviewing workforce actions and ensuring that there is the provision of a safe workplace through the company policies. A decreased employee safety incidence helps establishments to save money especially on their insurance policies and also reduces legal liability of an organization.

Businesses with numerous cases of safety incidences are regarded as high risk by insurance companies and are, therefore, faced with increased legal obligations.

Improvement of Operations

Improvement of operations is another role and also the importance of safety in safety management system. Though it may be an unanticipated advantage, companies can use their safety procedures to enhance their operations (Hollnagel, 2014).

Safety procedures may enable workers to work faster and improve their production output. Additionally, educating employees on the best ways of accomplishing business functions may lead to the discovery of new ways to advance the effectiveness and efficiency of the production process. It can also help in the reduction of business costs through the use of fewer workers to maintain a certain level of production output.

The Inter-Relation with Safety Management Systems Approach

The above concepts inter-relate with the safety management systems approach since with the changes in the community attitude about safety and evolutions associated with regulations, ensuring a safe workplace demands an approach that integrates every aspect of business in a pro-active manner (Hollnagel, 2014).

A systematic approach to safety management integrates with organizational processes, ensures that all levels of a company are engaged including the managers and employees, and incorporates a pro-active risk management. Because this method is always championed actively by senior administration, it is ordinarily practical and relevant and usually undergoes full implementation.

A systematic safety management involves both documents and action. For instance, in addition to the manuals or guidebooks given to the workers, induction are typically conducted, risk assessments undertaken, and the safety committee meets and acts. This approach helps businesses to have a safety culture, that is, incorporate safety as part of their daily operation and how they do things.

Benefits of a Well Designed Systematic Approach to Safety Management

A well designed systematic approach to safety management fitted with organizational needs and combined with the safety culture it helps develop within a business, it is vital in preventing workplace safety incidences (Hollnagel, 2014).

Furthermore, it saves organizations money, provides a clear roadmap to the management of organizational safety system hence reduces safety management issues. It also ensures company’s adherence to safety regulations which is an essential aspect of the enhancement of business operations.

References

Buchanan, A. H., & Abu, A. K. (2017). Structural design for fire safety. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Hollnagel, E. (2014). Safety-I and safety-II: The past and future of safety management. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company.