“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
― Benjamin Franklin

Starting the implementation of a Safety Management System is quite an endeavour, and the temptation is to just get stuck in and “get on with it”.

However a successful SMS is much more than a bunch of procedures in a manual or even solved by following a few courses.

Besides building a technical capability, you also need to integrate your SMS with the existing management system and staff working practices.
This is not just a technical exercise in the end you need to successfully deal with the individuals in your organisation, there is a lot of communication necessary to obtain and maintain that elusive “buy-in”.

Without addressing this there is a possibility that your new and shiny SMS will be completely ignored by the organisation.
With upcoming regulatory requirements this is not an option any more, you will have to be able to demonstrate that your SMS is performing.

To be successful, the organisation needs to plan an SMS that is fit for purpose, takes into account its organisational characteristics and provides a useful output.
Even if your SMS already exists, it might be very valuable to re-evaluate and re-plan your implementation to get it back on track.

As part of the plan you will also foresee the resources that you need to accomplish it. Without a plan, it might be very difficult to get the necessary resources for a successful SMS implementation.

A S/R/M coaching session can help to identify particular issues in your organisation, formulate a plan and avoid some common pitfalls of implementing Safety Management Systems.

Share if this provoked new thinking!