The Comparative Analysis Model:
Mapping and Analyzing Safety and Health Management Systems
The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General has produced a comparative
analysis of safety and health management systems. As illustrated in the following
downloadable materials, their Comparative Analysis (CA) model identifies the common
elements that are characteristic of the more notable, effective safety management
systems and culture maturity models identified during this study.
Download the full detailed version, printable on 24” x 42”.
Download the summarized version, printable on 8.5”x11” or 11”x17”
paper.
Organizations should consider the use of both tools when designing their safety
program. Careful examination of these elements can be beneficial to organizations
and decision makers when establishing a new or re-engineering an existing enterprise-wide
safety and health program. The CA suggests that each system is built on an organizational
safety philosophy that promotes a structured approach with measurable attributes
and milestones.
This analysis validates the notion that creating and sustaining an effective organizational
safety culture requires a deliberate architecture based on four elements:
- Leadership
- Management
- Employee relations
- Measurement
The Conference Board also identifies and discusses these elements in their document
“Driving
Toward ‘0’ Best Practices in Corporate Safety and Health, 2003.”
Why best practices?
Because high performing organizations promote safety and adopt safety as one of
their core values. Since employees expect to work in an environment that is safe
and healthy, leaders and managers should continually evaluate their safety and health
programs to ensure leadership, policies, resources, mechanisms, and tools are achieving
the intended outcomes.
Mutual trust and accountability among leaders, managers, and employees are inherent
in mature safety cultures; therefore, leaders and managers should continually assess
the safety climate and culture, and identify improvement opportunities.
