A Safety Management System (or SMS for short) is just that: it is a systematic approach to managing the safety aspects of your operation. It is not just a collection of documents. Instead it is a systematic combination of procedures, mindset and information flow that runs throughout your operation. The documentation that flows from its use has two purposes:
to provide consolidated reference material that become your authoritative sources
to act as a driving force that guides your implementation and continuation of the system.
The important thing to remember is that the purpose of the SMS is not to defend you if you end up in court - that would be a very undesirable outcome.
The purpose of your SMS is to help you put robust defences into place that minimise the risk of accidents. Just because adventure is about exposing people to uncertain outcomes does not mean that you have to expose them to unnecessary or uncontrolled risk!
The School for Mountain Leadership provides a service that assists you to:
DETERMINE the scope of your SMS
DRAFT a safety policy
IDENTIFY the level of risk associated with aspects of your operations
DESIGN operating procedures
IDENTIFY training requirements
DOCUMENT the implementation of your SMS
ENTRENCH the SMS
We endeavour to develop a system for you that SUPPORTS YOUR BUSINESS and does not hinder it! The quickest way to get a SMS to fail is to make it clunky, cumbersome and impractical to use.
We will come to you and walk through this process with you every step of the way. Whether it takes 3 days or 3 weeks, we will be there, helping you develop a system that WORKS FOR YOUR BUSINESS MODEL, taking into account the types of activities you offer, the environment that you offer them in and the typical profile of your clients.
Before we depart the site we will train you and your staff in what the system is, how it works and, most importantly, how it will benefit you.
If you would like to find out more then please feel free to drop us a message and we will get right back to you!
