What is the primary focus of safety management systems?

The primary focus of safety management systems is to proactively manage safety risks in the workplace. This approach emphasizes a systematic process for identifying hazards, assessing risks, and implementing effective control measures to prevent workplace incidents. By doing so, organizations foster a culture of safety that encourages continual improvement and promotes the health and well-being of employees.

This proactive management involves establishing policies and procedures that outline safety practices, continuous monitoring of safety performance, and engaging employees at all levels in safety initiatives. The goal is to create a safe working environment that reduces accidents and injuries before they occur, rather than solely reacting to incidents after they happen.

While ensuring compliance with local regulations, providing safety training, and minimizing operational costs are important aspects of workplace safety, they are not the core focus of safety management systems. Compliance often arises as a result of a well-implemented safety management system, and training can be a key component of the overall system to help achieve that proactive risk management. Minimizing costs can also be a beneficial outcome of effective safety practices, but the overarching goal remains the anticipation and management of safety risks.