2024 – Module 7: Management and Change

Expectations

7.1 Managing a change process must define what constitutes a significant change and who must follow the process. The process itself must include the following aspects:

The reason for the change
A risk assessment to identify and control any potential consequences both during the change and as a result of the change
A review with affected employees or stakeholders
Communication with all affected people
A defined authorization/approval process
A method to ensure controls are implemented and documentation, diagrams, and procedures are updated
A post-change review to ensure the change did not result in any unforeseen hazards

7.2 Communicate the management of change processes to ensure all potentially affected parties understand their obligations.

7.3 Management of change decisions must be documented for ongoing tracking, verification, and reference purposes.

7.4 All new operations, expansions, processing facilities, major mobile and fixed equipment, and control systems must undergo pre-start-up safety reviews.

7.5 Safety and health management aspects of construction work conducted on organization property should conform to the organization’s SHMS standards and expectations.

7.6 All new operations, mines, processing facilities, major mobile and fixed equipment, and control systems should undergo a pre-startup safety review (PSSR).

Management and Change Overview

CORESafety discusses various types of hazard and risk assessments that should occur, followed by implementing new programs or processes to control the risks. However, any changes that occur in the operation or related facilities should not introduce new hazards, negatively change the risk rating of existing hazards, or degrade controls. Organizations must routinely identify changes in the organization and at the operation that may introduce new risks or increase unacceptable risks by proactively looking for and controlling change at every level of the organization and across functional areas, including emergency management – where the full management of change is likely to be unrealistic. As such, management of change and emergency management should be closely coordinated, to ensure emergency procedures exercised in response to a crisis or emergency do not introduce additional and unacceptable risk.

Who and What Change is Included 

Change that results in unacceptable risk should be managed in the same manner as any other hazard in the workplace – through appropriate and effective controls. Training is fundamental to effective management of change to ensure all affected personnel clearly understand what “change” requires inclusion in the management process. The management of change process should apply to every functional area and every level of the organization.

Planned, unplanned, temporary, and incremental or permanent changes should all be included in a plan. Change management should also include any aspects that affect the operation’s plan and/or the facilities and its processes, systems, equipment, products, materials, organization, and personnel. Organizations must ensure that the SHMS includes provisions to verify that management of change actions have been completed and that they do not significantly result in new, unintended risk(s).

7.1 Resources

7.2 Resources

WhatFix – How to Communicate Change

7.3 Resources

How To Document Change Management Process | Change Strategists

7.4 Resources

SafeOpedia – Safety Review: What It Is and Why We Need It

7.5 Resources

Health and Safety Authority – Safety and Health Management Systems

7.6 Resources

Module 6: Occupational Health and Well-Being

Module 8: Near Miss and Incident Reporting

These videos are from the 2021 handbook modules and are applicable to the new modules.