Fall Protection Program
Systems and Programs
A system is a group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole. All systems have structure, inputs, processes, behaviors, and outputs. This module discusses Safety Management System (SMS) and how a Fall Protection Program fits within the system.
In terms of structure, SMSs are designed with the following components: positions, principles, policies, plans, programs, processes, procedures, and practices that produce intended results. However, systems may be structured in a very informal manner, and most likely result in inefficient and ineffective outputs. Either way, systems will produce only what they are designed to produce: they can't produce anything else.
Like all systems, a safety management system has:
- Structure - Formal or informal, responsibilities, assignments, and teams.
- Inputs - Funding, commitment, leadership, staffing, and equipment.
- Processes - Procedures, tasks, and best practices.
- Behaviors - SMS behaviors depend system design and employee behaviors.
- Outputs - Performance is measured in terms of Low/high accident rates, costs, morale, and reputation.
The bottom line: There are two important things to remember about systems:
- Your company cannot NOT have a safety management system: what does yours look like?
- Your safety management system can only produce what it is designed to produce.
The challenge is to design, develop, and deploy a SMS so that it is both efficient and effective.
A program is a planned, coordinated group of activities or procedures that have a specific purpose. It helps to think of the company's Fall Protection Program as one of the elements within the company's Safety Management System (SMS). Like the SMS, the fall protection program contains the same 8 interrelated components that exist within the SMS.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
2-1. Funding, commitment, leadership, staffing, and equipment are examples of safety management system _____.
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