Whenever someone suggests a new concept, strategy or technique, there's always a lot of questions surrounding the topic. Take a look below to read through the answers to some of our most frequently asked questions.
Question: What is a Safety Management System (SMS)?
Answer: A SMS is a holistic process that assures a disciplined and standardized approach to managing risk. SMS is rigorous, measurable, and repeatable. Technically, a SMS is a dynamic risk management system based on quality management system (QMS) principles in a structure scaled appropriately to the operational risk, applied in a safety culture environment.
Question: What is System Safety?
Answer: System Safety is the level of safety designed into a system that serves as adverse event investigation before the adverse event occurs. It is the application of special technical and managerial skills in a systematic, forward-looking manner to identify, analyze, assess, and control hazards and risks.
Question: What are the benefits of implementing a Safety Management System (SMS)?
Answer: Managing risk is fundamental, and Safety Management Systems enable us to manage risk far better than ever before. With this structured approach, we can identify issues, fix them, and ensure they stay fixed. In this era of competing demands, tight budgets, and high expectations, SMS allows all of us to focus our limited resources on the highest priorities. SMS will help us find, understand, prioritize, and fix problems early – when it is less expensive in both lives and dollars.
Question: What are the benefits of implementing System Safety?
Answer:
- Consideration and review of entire systems and programs – NOT JUST PORTIONS!
- Safety is designed into systems rather than inspected into them
- Validation of regulatory requirements
- Validation of applicable standards (internal and external)
- Application of safety attributes (6)
- Application of risk management
Question: How do you generate “buy-in” for a Safety Management System (SMS) and System Safety?
Answer: Start small. Pick a system – any system. Then focus on the system from a smaller perspective such as Nursing, Physician, etc. Because of the nature, structure, and attributes of system safety, the entire system is able to be effectively analyzed. Once system analysis is complete, objective evidence can be used to further facilitate interdisciplinary employee “buy-in”.
Question: Who should develop, implement, and manage a Safety Management System (SMS)?
Answer: Some debate has centered around “who” should be tasked with facilitating systems-based patient safety solutions such as SMS. The ideal person(s) should be safety management experts that have received formal safety management training and certification.
Question: How do recognize a Safety Management System (SMS) when you see one?
Answer:
- Recognize a SMS by looking at the healthcare organization’s documentation and records including process descriptions, process measurements, and risk assessments.
- Recognize a SMS by asking how the healthcare organization manages change.
- Recognize a SMS by observing the healthcare organization’s safety programs.
- Recognize a SMS by talking to the healthcare organization’s employees.
Question: How do you know if you have System Safety?
Answer:
- Top management appreciates and requests independent safety reviews
- No management pressure to compromise
- No fear of retribution – NO BLAME!
- Freedom to raise and debate issues
- Smoother communication and expectation across disciplines
Question: What is the Safety Order of Precedence?
Answer: The Safety Order of Precedence is a prioritized list of controls that should be considered and applied, in sequence, to eliminate or control identified system hazards:
- Design for minimum risk – design your systems and processes to eliminate risks. If the identified risk cannot be eliminated, reduce it to an acceptable level through design selection.
- Incorporate safety devices – if identified risks cannot be eliminated through design selection, reduce the risk via the use of fixed, automatic, or other safety design features, or devices. Provisions shall be made for periodic functional checks of safety devices.
- Provide warning devices – when neither design or safety devices can effectively eliminate risk, devices shall be used to detect the condition and to produce an adequate warning signal. Warning signals and their application shall be designed to minimize the likelihood of inappropriate human reaction and response. To illustrate, warning signs and placards shall be provided to alert operational and support personnel of such risks as exposure to high voltage and heavy objects.
- Develop procedures and training – where it is impractical to eliminate risks through design selection or specific safety and warning devices, procedures and training are used.
Question: What is the difference between safety and quality?
Answer: Safety is the minimization and management of risk. Quality, on the other hand, focuses on whether or not the products, programs, or services in question have the following two characteristics. The first characteristic is “conformance to requirements”. In other words, the product, program, or service meets all predetermined specifications established by the manufacturer, organization, regulator, and customers. The second characteristic is “fitness for use,” which means that the product, program, or service does what it is expected to do, or better yet, exceeds expectations.
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