Practical implementation of safety management systems

摘要

British Sugar plc is the first sugar company in the world to have its safety management system at one of its sites approved by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance as conforming to BS 8800:1996. The remaining eight sites are committed to gaining certification to OHSAS 18001:1999, the successor to BS 8800:1996, by the end of 2000. Although highly experienced in implementing both quality and environmental management systems, the challenges of devising a safety management system have been far greater than anticipated. Being first, the company has not been able to draw on the experiences of others. The management resources required to set up the system have been considerable. Nevertheless the benefits of having such a system far outweigh the negative aspects. This paper provides an insight into some of the practicalities faced by the company.