Tsm Adopting a Total Safety

TSM

Adopting a Total Safety Management System

TSM: An Introduction

Total Safety Management System or TSM enables an organization to develop interrelated processes to provide personnel with a consistently safe work environment in which to provide the best product and services (DOE, 8). According to Goetsch (2005) TSM is "a performance-oriented approach to safety management that involves the total organization" (1). This means that a TSM involves integrated processes and procedures that ensure the total health and well being of all employees within an organization.

There are many advantages a TSM system has to offer an organization. Among the more commonly cited advantages of a TSM include improved employee morale, improved motivation, greater productivity and increased safety on and off the job. Employees that feel safe are more likely to remain productive and loyal than those who are threatened in the workplace. Besides an investment in time and training, there are relatively few disadvantages a TSM system has to offer. These ideas and more are discussed below.

Advantages of TSM Systems In Business

TSM systems offer organizations various benefits. Perhaps the most important advantage an organization stands to gain by adopting a TSM is improved productivity and efficiency (Pierce, 2000). When implemented correctly a TSM system should help organizations maintain and promote a healthy and safe environment for employees to work in. TSM encourages among other things (1) peak performance among employees, (2) performance-based action and (3) continual steps toward improvement (Goetsch, 2005). A TSM offers companies multiple advantages. One it ensures employees are competent and adequately trained to perform the tasks at hand. It also ensures an organization easily identifies safety requirements and standards and monitors hazards in the workplace.

TSM also enables individuals within the corporation to have clear responsibilities and roles with regard to safety, and ensures they are competent with respect to the level of responsibility they carry within the organization (DOE, 12). It also helps employees and the organization balance priorities. An organization willing to adopt a TSM system subsequently assigns accountability to certain individuals for an organizations environment health and well-being. It also encourages individuals and teams of individuals in the organization to establish common goals and objectives with respect to organizational safety. This in turn improves team spirit, camaraderie and confidence in the organizations ability to support employee objectives and safety.

Kincaid (2002) points out that an effective TSM system will develop safety standards in language that is plain and clear so that all employees are capable of adopting safety responsibilities as a normal part of business. An organization that utilizes a TSM and treats safety "like it is truly important" will have multiple advantages over competitors in part because it will offer employees improved safety and better health performance in the workplace (Kincaid, 34). Employees who are aware of hazards on the job are less likely to engage in behaviors or activities that will result in harm or decreased productivity. Time and time again organizations have noted that close attention to safety standards and employee well being decreases expenses associated with worker compensation and other avenues of risk management (Kincaid, 2002). One may go as far to say that TSM is one of the most important principles a company can adopt, one that will save time and money in the long run.

Pierce (2000) notes that system thinking allows organizations to value safety "as an integral and critical part of the system" and thus improve everyone's experience of their job and their ability to function in the workplace (63). The author also points out that when a system is in place and utilized correctly it will also enable companies to more easily detect errors or problems that may in the future decrease or inhibit productivity (Pierce, 2000).

TSM system that is adopted and embraced by senior management and employees will also empower employees and managers alike to take preventive steps toward safety, encourage motivation among all members of an organization, encourage people to team up, become more self-directed, "accountable and re-engineered," all of which will lead to increased overall functioning (Pierce, 2000). There are multiple studies that point out that employees who do not feel safe in the workplace are more likely to perform poorly, demonstrate increased absenteeism and generally contribute less to the organization as a whole (Pierce, 2000). Thus, an organization should not simply view TSM as beneficial for the health and well being of employees, but should also view adopting a TSM as critical for the health and well being and ultimately the success of the organization as a whole.

Conclusions

TSM is a performance based approach to safety in the workplace. An interdisciplinary process, TSM requires that organizations take a look at their overall safety goals and objectives and develop a process that clearly and logically explains important safety considerations to employees and managers. For a TSM to succeed senior management must buy into it, so employees feel motivated that the organization is taking an active interest in creating a healthy and safe environment.

TSM offers an organization multiple advantages. Studies suggest that TSM is more likely than other Total Quality Management processes to encourage employee motivation, team oriented work behaviors, accountability and improved overall functioning (Pierce, 2000). Other potential benefits an organization stands to gain by adopting a TSM include decreased expenditures related to Risk Management and employee turnover. Employees are far more likely to step up the plate and remain loyal to a company that provides for their overall health and well being.