Enhancing Safety Management Practices

A Safety Management System is a systematic approach to managing an organization’s risk to achieve a positive safety record. SMS improves organizational safety in four ways: assessment and mitigation of risk in daily operations; monitoring safety performance; setting and communicating safety policy; and promoting safety through establishment of a positive safety culture. SMS builds safety into an organization as a core business function, equipping it to efficiently manage safety and improve outcomes.

MITRE’s SMS-related competencies are based on years of research, evaluation of leading practices, and input from safety experts around the world. MITRE has worked in numerous industries with strong safety missions (e.g., aviation, rail, automotive, food, healthcare) alongside both government and industry. Our safety management experts leverage five capabilities to transform the way organizations approach safety:

• Setting Up an Effective SMS Program—implementing SMS by training employees throughout the organization on leading safety practices and providing policy guidance 
• Enhancing Safety Performance—improving safety by setting safety objectives and defining performance indicators.
• Establishing Voluntary Safety Reporting—gathering and addressing safety concerns from frontline employees by offering a confidential, non-punitive program.
• Transforming Safety Culture—advancing safety culture maturity by assessing and analyzing culture strengths and opportunities for improvement within and across organizations.
• Improving SMS Effectiveness—continuously maturing safety management program by conducting a comprehensive evaluation of its effectiveness (as opposed to compliance).

Through these capabilities, MITRE’s safety management team acts as a strategic partner to organizations looking to improve safety, serving as a neutral and trusted third party providing an independent and unbiased perspective.