XVIII. Tracking corrective and improvement actions

Why?

Safety management is very often associated with the execution of inspections. Here, potential for improvement is identified, which is converted into corresponding tasks for the respective area. Every corporate culture deals with the processing of such tasks differently. These defined and implemented tasks offer an inexhaustible pool of knowledge for every organization, especially when measures from observations are added in addition to inspections and incident investigations.

With the help of such a knowledge database, potential future events can be prevented and company processes can be continuously improved.

The meaning of the four states

The characteristics of the four states can be described for this subject area as follows:

	dependent – Measures from audits, inspections and incident investigations are tracked by the HSE department. There is no standardized process defined for the follow-up of measures
	independent – The follow-up of measures from audits, inspections and incident investigations is carried out jointly by the team leads and supervisors with support of the HSE department. Progress of implementation is tracked centrally
	interdependent – A central IT tool has been introduced to track all types of measures. HSE department supports the teams that implement the measures independently. Senior management is informed about status of implementation and reviews measures that are delayed or not implemented
	reactive – No process put in place to track actions

How?

To initiate a discussion on this subject area the following key questions might be helpful for support:

1. Are tasks recorded and evaluated in a central tool?
2. Is the processing and the status of the implementation monitored in the company?
3. Is the status of the processing of the tasks regularly discussed in management meetings?
4. Are the findings and tasks evaluated according to predefined categories in the company?
5. Are the tasks categorized according to hazards and risks?
6. Are tasks that address a higher risk potential communicated in the company in order to sensitize other areas to this?