BREMERTON, Wash. –
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility formally announced the establishment of a new safety management system in a signing event May 29.
The PSNS & IMF Safety Management System is a result of new Navy requirements for the establishment of a centralized safety program that consolidates the management of the shipyard’s safety culture in one location.
The signing included shipyard leadership and members of the Safety Executive Steering Committee.
“This system provides a foundation for the safety culture that is expected and demanded in our complex work environment,” said Cody Matheson, PSNS & IMF’s deputy director for environment, safety and health.
PSNS & IMF has continually supported the infrastructure for the SMS in the myriad of programs, procedures and processes that already exist throughout the shipyard.
“Other than formally documenting the management of PSNS & IMF’s safety culture in one location, there is nothing new that we have to do as a result of the SMS,” said Matheson.
Examples of some of the programs and initiatives already in place, which will be under the new system, include a Plan-Do-Check-Act Campaign, the shipyard’s occupational safety and health policy and inspections, and job hazard analysis and technical instructions.
The SMS will be managed by the shipyard’s Environment, Safety, and Health Office, Code 106. They will be assisted by briefings and input from shipyard leadership as well as safety groups and programs in the shipyard. Their goal is not only to continually improve safety within the shipyard, but also to communicate those efforts across all levels of the workforce.
“There is nothing more important than the safety of our people and our shipyard employees,” said Capt. Dianna Wolfson, PSNS & IMF commander. “This system provides us with a platform to reinvigorate safety standards and establishes our safety culture for years to come.”