716 Safety Management System Evaluation

Evaluating the SMS

What is "Evaluation?"

Websters dictionary defines the term evaluate as "to judge the worth of." Evaluation is a systematic, objective process for determining the success of a policy or program. It addresses questions about whether and to what extent the program is achieving its goals and objectives. The primary attributes of most SMS evaluations include objectivity, standardization, systematic, and formal.

Evaluation has several distinguishing characteristics. An evaluation:

1. assesses the effectiveness of an ongoing program in achieving its objectives,
2. relies on the standards of project design to distinguish a program's effects from those of other forces, and
3. aims at program improvement through a modification of current operations.

An evaluation team, such as safety committee members or other safety staff, typically conducts evaluations. Team members should assist in developing the evaluation design, developing data collection instruments, collecting data, analyzing data, and writing the report. The evaluation plan is a written document describing the overall approach or design that will be used to guide an evaluation.

An evaluation plan should include:

• what will be done
• how it will be done
• who will do it
• when it will be done
• why the evaluation is being conducted.

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