Step One: Analyze the System with a Baseline Survey
Webster defines the term, analysis as, "the breaking down of the whole into its constituent parts to determine their nature."
In this first step, the objective is to determine the status of the SMS by identifying which components are currently in place and how well they are working.
To achieve this, conduct an initial comprehensive baseline SMS survey. This survey examines the entire SMS to identify the existing system components. System components include safety programs, plans, policies, processes, procedures, practices, people involved, and performance measures. In this course, we'll refer to these system components and others.
If an SMS program doesn't exist, there may be a structural design problem with the system. If the SMS program does exist but isn't performing well, we may have a system performance problem. To determine if one or both of these issues are present, we need to analyze the SMS structure and performance as follows:
- Analyze the SMS structure: Examine the SMS structure to identify which programs exist and assess the quality of their design.
- Analyze the SMS performance: Analyze existing SMS programs to evaluate how well they are meeting their individual program goals and objectives.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
2-2. What are the two basic SMS components that are the focus of a baseline survey?
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