BOS3651 Unit 8 Management Essay Research Coursework

Audit of Boeing’s Safety Management System
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Audit of Boeing’s Safety Management System
Boeing is a global leader in aircraft manufacturing. It's the biggest producer of commercial airlines with clients in more than 150 countries worldwide. Boeing is also a fast-growing company that continually comes up with innovative products in the aviation industry. Boeing has a vast employee pool of more than 150,000 workers in over 60 countries. It's immense size and complexity means Boeing needs a robust safety management system. Further, it operates in a sensitive industry in the aviation sector, where even minor errors can have devastating consequences. Boeing has three core business units: Commercial Airplanes, Defense, Space & Security, and Global services. Today, about half of the commercial airlines in service globally are Boeing-manufactured (Boeing, 2020). This paper will focus on the safety management system of the Commercial Airplanes unit in Boeing.
1. Occupational Health and Safety Management system
Boeing introduced a new health and management system in 2010, which was meant to minimize any workplace injuries further. All its manufacturing plants were required to comply with this new system. The company is focused on continuous improvement in its safety practices. It encourages shared responsibility in the workplace to elevate safety standards. This safety system enhances Boeing's capacity to identify and mitigate any job hazards. Boeing is also dedicated to integrating its Safety Now campaign to boost its workplace safety significantly. Due to its aggressive efforts to promote workplace safety, Boeing has a low rate of injuries in every aspect of its operations (Summers, 2011). This indicates that The Occupational Health and Safety Management system of Boeing is World Class as it has achieved a new level of workplace safety in its manufacturing units.
2. Occupational Health and Safety policy
An active Occupational Health and Safety Policy require top management to play a frontline role in mitigating risks. In this way, an organization can ensure all employees at every level comply with the OHS policy. The company streamlined its policy when in 2012; Boeing's manufacturing facilities suffered a series of tragic events. Due to this, the company adopted stringent OHS programs such as the “Go for Zero – One Day at a Time.” It ensured that safety was the highest priority for managers. This initiative brought together all top managers within Boeing and was meant to strengthen coordination with the workers. Another program the Safety Promise also helped workers maintain an injury-free workplace that ensures that safety is a personal responsibility for everyone. Boeing has instilled several guiding principles that place a high value on human life and wellbeing. Their efforts have been successful as the company has minimized workplace injuries by about 35 percent. Notably, in 2018, it won the prestigious Robert W. Campbell Award for its safety-first policy (National Safety Council, 2018). This illustrates its World-Class performance in OHS.
3. Responsibility and Authority
Usually, the pilot in charge (PIC) is the person in authority and responsibility for the aircraft and its passengers. In other instances where two or three pilots operate the plane, then a captain would be the authority, and the person responsible for the aircraft and Boeing is not an exception. Under the FAA regulations, the pilots at Boeing are sufficiently trained and have the necessary experience to fly the full range of planes under the company. According to Ginnett (2019), the organization of crew on deck is very critical since it brings s about a sense of responsibility and a single source of authority, the PIC can coordinate the activities in the plane, especially in case of an emergency. The U. S. CFR Title 14, Part 1, Section 1.1 to which Boeing is a signatory states the duties of the PIC as follows;
1 The person who has the final authority and responsibility of the aircraft
2 The person who has been bestowed the title of PIC before and during the flight
3 The person who holds the appropriate credentials including; type class and category, to fly the aircraft
Boeing ensures all the above decrees are put into consideration to achieve its professionalism.
4. Employee Participation
Boeing, like any other aviation company, uses the safety management system (SMS) model to run its operations. The SMS model deploys the top-down approach when managing its employees; however, this kind of approach may make it difficult for employee participation in decision making, especially for those in the lower ranks who are used to receiving orders from their in-charges (Kearns et al., 2017). Some of the methods employed by Boeing to boost employee participation as discussed by Britton (2019) include;
1 Holding regular safety performance reviews for employees across the board.
2 For successful SMS performance, a return of investment (ROI) should be done to improve preparedness.
3 Including employees in the decision-making process, such as allowing them to sit on safety and investigation committees.
4 It provides improved and tailor-made aviation SMS training that increases the safety awareness of the employees, making them participate more in being vigilant.
5 Sharing information regarding safety procedures to the employees across the board.
It is in the interest of Boeing to have all its employees participate in SMS and feel like they are a part of it to ensure all safety guidelines are met.
6 Review Process, Assessment, and Prioritization
The review process in the aviation industry typically involves the assessment of foreseen risks and putting in place first-line safety measures intended to mitigate the predicted risks hence preventing a disaster. Boeing is not an exception since it carries out constant assessments, prioritization, and reviews of its aircraft and operations. In the airline industry, continuous reviews, evaluation, and prioritization of procedures must take place in every aspect of the industry to ensure seamless services and avoid accidents (Ṣenol, 2020). Some of the factors considered by Boeing during a review, assessment, and prioritization include;
* The airworthiness of the aircraft
* The air traffic control system
* Threats posed (military setups)
Boeing regularly carries out reviews, assessments, and prioritization among its aircraft and operations to ensure optimum performance and safety.
6. Risk Assessment
Risk assessment refers to the process of trying to determine the probability of a risk-taking place, its implications, and severity to come up with mitigation strategies that prioritize the highest risk going down to the lowest risk (Chapman, 2019). This enables the management to know where to allocate resources to avoid future disasters. The process of risk assessment happens in the following stages;
* Establishing the context
* Identifying the risks
* Risk analysis
* Risk evaluation
* Risk treatment
By following the above steps, Boeing can prevent future disasters and ensure the safety of its employees and travelers.
7 Hierarchy of Controls
Boeing has a well-established hierarchy of controls that ensures maximum safety for its employees. The hierarchy of controls details the most effective measures intended to keep its employees safe according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (2015).below is the hierarchy of controls from the most effective at the top to the least effective at the bottom as listed below;
1 Elimination of the hazards (most effective)
2 Finding a substitution for the hazard
3 Engineering controls which involve shifting people from the hazard
4 Administrative controls which change how people work
5 Finally, and the least effective, providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to workers.
By following the order w...