Tools for safety management

While organisational safety has come a long way, the current rate of accidents suggests room for further improvement. The concept of TSM fully integrates safety practices into high-level organisational management, also providing businesses with performance improvements and competitive advantage.

The EU-funded TOSCA (Total operation management for safety critical activities) project aims to support such integration. Focusing on Europe's process control industries, the 15-member consortium planned to detail organisational vulnerabilities relevant to safety and quality outcomes. The target was to be achieved via new software tools. Two additional software tools, concerning design and operations management, were also planned. Such resources are intended to improve information flows, reduce analysis and preparation time, and provide more effective results. The three-year undertaking concludes in early 2016.

Work began with detailing and evaluating European small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) requirements regarding safety, quality and productivity. Each project partner shared their knowledge. Additionally, the team conducted a literature review and organised interviews and an online survey of European businesses. Results were analysed to determine the most appropriate approaches.

Subsequently, several working cases were established for testing, follow-up and demonstration of the most interesting TOSCA tools. The team defined the proposed methodology, which incorporates integration of the software. Draft versions of the methodology and tools have been prepared and released.

Dissemination work includes a market analysis for the final products, plus several conference presentations and papers. The team is considering ISO 31000 for TOSCA development.

TOSCA's tools should contribute to the development and implementation of the TSM concept among European SMEs. Such work will advance management of organisational safety, also leading to improvements to productivity and efficiency.