4.

DEVELOPING, IMPLEMENTING AND MAINTAINING A SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

A proprietor or contractor of a relevant industrial undertaking shall develop, implement and maintain in respect of the relevant industrial undertaking a safety management system which contains the elements applicable to that undertaking. [Section 8 of the Safety Management Regulation].

4.1 How to develop a safety management system ?

The development of a safety management system involves planning and developing. 4.1.1 Planning Planning is the process of determining in advance what should be accomplished. The planning stage answers the questions: "Where are we now?" and "Where do we want to be?". (1) At this stage, the proprietor or contractor of a relevant industrial undertaking is required: (a) to identify in advance what safety and health objectives should be accomplished by a safety management system as appropriate to the relevant industrial undertaking under the Safety Management Regulation; to prioritise the safety and health objectives and devise the ways and means to achieve them; and to estimate the financial and other resource implications arising from the accomplishment of these safety and health objectives.

(b) (c) (2)

For the purposes of 4.1.1(1) above, the proprietor or contractor should: (a) (b) (c) (d) conduct an initial status analysis to take stock of the existing arrangements for managing safety and health; carry out risk assessments to decide on priorities and objectives for hazard elimination and risk control; establish performance standards for monitoring performance; and conduct periodic status analyses for the safety management system in operation.

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(3)

Guidance on how to conduct the initial status analysis, periodic status analyses and risk assessments is provided as follows (a) Initial status analysis Initial status analysis is the process of finding out the current position as regards how safety and health matters are being managed in the industrial undertaking. This should be done if the proprietor or contractor is establishing a safety management system for his industrial undertaking for the first time. The analysis should answer the question of "Where are we now?". The findings should be compared with the requirements of relevant legislation dealing with safety and health at work; and the best trade practices and trade performance,

to show how big the 'gap' is between 'where we are now' and 'where we want to be'. The legal requirements represent the minimum standards to be achieved, whereas the best trade practices and trade performance provide a direction for continuous improvement. In conducting the analysis, the proprietor or contractor should ensure that it adequately covers each of the elements as appropriate to him under the Safety Management Regulation. (b) Periodic status analyses After the initial status analysis, the proprietor or contractor should ensure that similar status analyses of the safety management system in operation are conducted periodically to facilitate continuous improvement. The proprietor or contractor should define the scope and frequency of the periodic status analyses based on the needs of the relevant industrial undertaking, having regard to the following : the findings/recommendations of safety audits or safety reviews; and the changes in organisational structure, legislation and the introduction of new technology.

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Developing, implementing and maintaining a safety management system

(c)

Risk assessment For planning purposes, risk assessment is used to estimate an industrial undertaking's overall risk profile. The findings will provide the basis for the proprietor or contractor to formulate risk control strategies, set out safety and health objectives, and define standards and priorities. The basic steps in risk assessment include the following: (i) Identification of hazards This is the process of identifying all significant hazards relating to each work activity and considering who may be harmed and how harm may be done. (ii) Determination of risk This is the process of making a subjective evaluation of the risk associated with each hazard assuming that planned or existing controls are in place, and considering the effectiveness of the controls and the consequences of their failure. Also, it is necessary to decide if the risk is tolerable. In deciding whether a risk is tolerable, the proprietor or contractor has to take into account whether the condition is within statutory limits and/or conform to legal or internationally recognised standards. Only when these limits and standards are met and the risk is at, or has been reduced to, the lowest possible level that is reasonably practicable should a risk be considered tolerable. After risk assessment, the following actions should be taken to eliminate or control the identified risks: (i) Development of safety procedures and risk control measures Safety procedures and risk control measures should be developed for risks that are not tolerable. (ii) Implementation and maintenance of safety procedures and risk control measures Safety procedures and risk control measures should be properly and fully implemented. Besides, these safety procedures and risk control measures should be properly maintained to ensure their effectiveness.

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(iii) Review of safety procedures and risk control measures Review is necessary whenever there is reason to suspect that the safety procedures and risk control measures are no longer effective, or if there has been a significant change in the matters to which they relate. Risk assessment and risk control are discussed in detail in part 5.11 of this COP. (4) The proprietor or contractor should appoint a competent person to carry out status analyses and risk assessment. For these purposes, a competent person is a person who is (a) (b) appointed by the proprietor or contractor to ensure that the duty is carried out ; and by reason of substantial training and practical experience competent to perform the duty.

4.1.2 Developing Developing is the process of determining how the safety and health objectives should be realised. The developing stage needs to answer the question: "How do we get there?". (1) At this stage, the proprietor or contractor of a relevant industrial undertaking is required to define, document and endorse a safety policy to spell out the safety and health objectives identified at the planning stage, and ensure that the policy includes a commitment to: achieve a high standard of occupational safety and health in compliance with legal requirements as the minimum, and in conformity with the best trade practices for continuous improvement; provide adequate resources to implement the policy; make occupational safety and health one of the primary responsibilities of line management, from the most senior executive to the first-line supervisor; ensure its understanding, implementation and maintenance at all levels in the organisation;

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ensure employee involvement and consultation to gain commitment to the policy and its implementation; ensure the carrying out of periodic review of the policy and the management system; and ensure that employees at all levels receive appropriate training and are competent to carry out their duties and responsibilities.

Safety policy is discussed in detail in Part 5.1. (2) To carry out the safety policy, the proprietor or contractor should prepare an effective safety plan which sets out in specific terms: a clear direction and a series of actions for the relevant industrial undertaking to follow to achieve the objectives of the safety policy; and clear guidance for managers and workers to work together to accomplish the objectives of the safety policy.

The safety plan should be established by the industrial undertaking's senior management, with the advice and assistance of safety and health personnel. As far as reasonably practicable, all levels of managers, supervisors and workers should be involved in the development of the plan. There is no fixed rule as to how detailed or lengthy a safety plan should be. Generally speaking, a safety plan should spell out the safety policy, along with the objectives and standards to be achieved, the statutory and, where appropriate, contractual obligations to be fulfilled, the risks to be tackled and the safety procedures and measures to be adopted. To be effective, the plan should set out: (a) (b) (c) a system of allocation of responsibilities for safety and health; the arrangements for the responsibilities to be discharged; the arrangements for carrying out each and every element of the safety management system applicable to the industrial undertaking; and the arrangements for monitoring the success of the plan.

(d)

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Where necessary, further details can be spelt out in safety manuals, method statements, handbooks, etc. All managers, supervisors and employees should know the plan and the role they play in its implementation. Establishing an effective communication system within the organization is therefore essential. Finally, the safety plan should be regularly reviewed and, where necessary, modified in the light of experience to ensure effectiveness.

4.2 How to implement a safety management system ?

The implementation of a safety management system involves organising and implementing. 4.2.1 Organising Organising is the process of prescribing formal relationships between people and resources in the organisation to accomplish objectives. At this stage, the proprietor or contractor of a relevant industrial undertaking is required: (a) to ensure that occupational safety and health is fully integrated across the relevant industrial undertaking and into all its activities, whatever the size or nature of its work; to set aside an adequate budget commensurate with the relevant industrial undertaking's size and nature for implementing the policy and for properly establishing and maintaining the elements of the safety management system; to structure the relevant industrial undertaking properly so that it can put the safety policy and plan into practice effectively; to allocate safety and health responsibilities; to make arrangements for the formation and operation of a safety committee, a safety department/unit/group and the appointment of a safety officer/advisor/director, etc.; ("safety officer" means a person employed as a safety officer in an industrial undertaking under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Safety Officers and Safety Supervisors) Regulations (Cap.59, sub.leg.)) (f) to ensure all employees have the necessary authority to carry out their safety and health responsibilities;
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(b)

(c) (d) (e)

Developing, implementing and maintaining a safety management system

(g)

to allocate to a person at the top management level a special responsibility for ensuring that the safety management system is properly implemented in all locations and spheres of operation within the relevant industrial undertaking; to make arrangements for the effective dissemination of occupational safety and health information; to make effective arrangements for the provision of specialist advice and services on occupational safety and health; to make effective arrangements for employees at all levels to take part in safety and health activities; and to identify the competencies required for employees at all levels and arrange the necessary training.

(h) (i) (j) (k)

4.2.2 Implementing Implementing is the process of carrying out or putting into practice the plans to achieve the desired objectives, with appropriate and adequate control to ensure proper performance in accordance with the plans. At this stage, the proprietor or contractor of a relevant industrial undertaking is required: (a) to determine and execute operation plans to control the risks identified and to meet the legal requirements as well as other requirements regarding safety management; to provide adequate and effective supervision to ensure that the policies and plans are effectively implemented; to prepare and maintain sufficient documentation to record and monitor the progress of the implementation of policies and plans; and to have emergency response plans in place for foreseeable emergencies and maintain a high level of emergency preparedness.

(b) (c) (d)

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4.3 How to maintain a safety management system ?

The maintenance of a safety management system involves measuring and auditing or reviewing, through which a proprietor or contractor knows whether the safety management system of his relevant industrial undertaking is working well or needs improvement, thereby maintaining the system in an efficient and effective state. 4.3.1 Measuring Measuring is the process of checking performance against agreed standards to find out when and where improvement is needed, and a means of monitoring the extent to which policies and objectives are being met. The measuring stage provides a "feedback loop" for the stages of development and implementation of a safety management system and help the relevant industrial undertaking reinforce and maintain its ability to reduce risks to the fullest extent and to ensure the continued efficiency, effectiveness and reliability of the safety management system. At this measuring stage, the proprietor or contractor of a relevant industrial undertaking is required: (a) to carry out proactive monitoring through, for example, surveillance and inspections covering both hardware (i.e. premises, plant and substances) and software (i.e. people, procedures and systems of work), for the purpose of checking (i) compliance with legal requirements and (ii) whether the safety and health arrangements in place are effective in achieving the objectives of the safety policy; to closely monitor the safety and health performance of individuals, particularly managers and supervisors, to see whether they fulfil their safety and health responsibilities ; to carry out reactive monitoring to gauge the effectiveness of risk control systems through, for example, the monitoring of accidents/ incidents, near misses, ill-health, and other safety and health performance indicators; to determine the immediate causes of sub-standard performance and identify the underlying causes and the implications for the design and operation of the safety management system; to rectify any sub-standard situations identified in the monitoring processes; and

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

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(f)

to continuously feed back information collected from the monitoring processes to the developing and implementing stages to improve the safety management system in operation.

4.3.2 Auditing or reviewing Auditing or reviewing is carried out to assess performance in addition to routine monitoring of occupational safety and health performance as described in Part 4.3.1 above. Auditing or reviewing constitutes the "feedback loop" to the planning stage which enables the relevant industrial undertaking to reinforce, maintain and develop its ability to reduce risks to the fullest extent and to ensure the continued efficiency, effectiveness and reliability of the safety management system. In addition, there should be information flowing between the development, implementation and maintenance stages and the auditing/reviewing stage so as to ensure the correct operation of the safety management system. At this auditing or reviewing stage, the proprietor or contractor of a relevant industrial undertaking is required: (a) to appoint a safety auditor or safety review officer to periodically conduct safety audits or safety reviews respectively in accordance with sections 13 or 19 of the Safety Management Regulation. Details are discussed in Part 6.2 or Part 7.2 of this COP; to provide facilities, information, etc. to the safety auditor or safety review officer for purposes of safety audit or safety review respectively in accordance with sections 14 or 20 of the Safety Management Regulation. Details are discussed in Parts 6.3 and 6.4, or Parts 7.3 and 7.4 of this COP; to take necessary actions on the safety audit or safety review report submitted, including drawing up a plan for improvements to the safety management system and implementing the plan in accordance with sections 16 and 22 of the Safety Management Regulation. Details are discussed in Part 6.5 or Part 7.5 of this COP; and to continuously feed back information from the safety audit or review to the planning, developing, organising and implementing stages to improve the safety management system in operation.

(b)

(c)

(d)

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4.4 Management model to develop, implement and maintain a safety management system
T he

various management functions described in Parts 4.1 to 4.3 above to develop, implement and maintain a safety management system can be graphically summarized by the following management model:
Management model to develop, implement and maintain a safety management system

Planning

Feedback

w Developing

w Organizing

w w w

Auditing / reviewing w Implementing

w w w

w Measuring
w

Legend Information link Control link

w

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Feedback

Developing, implementing and maintaining a safety management system

4.5 Application of the management model to individual elements of a safety management system
The above management model should be adopted not only in the development, implementation and maintenance of a safety management system, but also in the development, implementation and maintenance of each and every element as specified in Schedule 4 of the Safety Management Regulation constituting the system. The proprietor or contractor of a relevant industrial undertaking should apply the model to all elements of the safety management system applicable to his undertaking so as to exercise effective management of occupational safety and health in his organisation. For example, as regards the element "in-house safety rules to provide instruction for achieving safety management objectives", the proprietor or contractor should first plan and develop the rules, and then organise his staff and resources to implement the rules. Furthermore, he should monitor compliance with the in-house safety rules and measure performance according to the set standards. Last but not the least, he should ensure that safety audits or safety reviews, as the case may be, are conducted periodically to check the effectiveness, efficiency and reliability of this particular element. With the feedback from the measuring, auditing or reviewing stages, the overall performance of this particular element can be improved in the next cycle of its development and implementation. The proprietor or contractor should document all information relating to the implementation and monitoring of the in-house rules and regulations for monitoring or reviewing purposes. To further illustrate the application of the management model, let us look at another example regarding the element "training to equip personnel with knowledge to work safely and without risk to health". The proprietor or contractor should first prepare a safety training policy, setting out the training objectives. He should then devise a plan to implement the policy and arrange for employees to receive the necessary training. In addition, he should determine the standards of performance regarding the implementation of the plan on safety training. He should monitor and review the progress of the plan and the effectiveness of training provided to the employees in accordance with the set standard. He should also ensure that periodic safety audits or safety reviews, as the case may be, are conducted to check the effectiveness, efficiency and reliability of this particular element. Again, the results of the measuring, auditing or reviewing stages will provide valuable feedback for improving the overall performance of this particular element in its next cycle of operation. In order to

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facilitate the monitoring and review of the training plan, the proprietor or contractor should ensure that all training programmes and the results of the evaluation of their effectiveness, etc. are adequately and properly documented.

4.6 Application of the management model to safety audits or safety reviews

The management model described in Part 4.4 above should also be used as a framework for assessing the overall performance of a safety management system by way of conducting safety audits or safety reviews. Safety audits or safety reviews should assess whether or not the processes as described in the management model have been successfully and effectively followed by the proprietor or contractor to develop, implement and maintain a safety management system, including each of the elements specified in Schedule 4 of the Safety Management Regulation applicable to the relevant industrial undertaking. Besides, safety audit or safety review should assess whether or not a safety management system, including each of the elements in the aforesaid Schedule 4 applicable to the relevant industrial undertaking, has been developed, implemented and maintained in a way that conforms to the standards set out in Part 5 of this COP. In general, the following questions can be answered after safety audits or safety reviews: (a) "Has the proprietor or contractor carried out effectively and efficiently the processes of planning, developing, organising, implementing and measuring as described in this COP in developing, implementing and maintaining the safety management system?". "Has the proprietor or contractor developed, implemented and maintained the safety management system in accordance with the Safety Management Regulation in an adequate and effective manner by conforming to the standards set out in Part 5 of the COP?".

(b)

If the answers to the above 2 questions are not satisfactory or negative, further improvements to the safety management system in operation are necessary.

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