OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY SCORECARDS: NEW LEADING INDICATORS IMPROVE RISK MANAGEMENT AND REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

Abstract

While it has been established for many years that the management of Occupational

Health and Safety (OHS) is carried out by means of Management Systems, the

question of how to measure the performance and the control of these systems is still

current. The first part of the article addresses the issue of the traditional indicators

identified in the literature. Once defined, their contribution and limitations are

discussed. Next, the general concept of Balanced Scorecards is described, along with

a survey of the work that has been carried out in the OHS domain. Finally, an

example from the aeronautic and aerospace industry is used to illustrate the

Balanced Scorecards model. It integrates leading management indicators for two

particularly interesting sub-processes of a Management System; namely, the

supervision of regulatory compliance and risk management.

Introduction

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) management plays a prominent role in most

companies. While it has been established for many years that the management of

OHS is carried out by means of Management Systems, the question of control and

measurement of the performance of these systems is still current. Traditionally based

on performance indicators, the method and results have several constraints and

limitations. This article addresses this problem, and discusses the opportunities and

benefits of the use of advanced indicators integrated into a Balanced Scorecard.

This article consists of four parts. The first deals with the issue of traditional safety

indicators. Once defined, their contribution and their limitations are discussed. The

general concept of the scorecard is then presented together with a survey of existing

work in the OHS domain. A model of the OHS Balanced Scorecard which integrates

management indicators at various levels of a management system is then proposed.

Finally, an OHS Balanced Scorecard is applied to a company in the aerospace sector.

This integrates advanced management indicators into two particularly interesting subprocesses

of a management system, namely: management of regulatory compliance

and risk management.y