What is HSE?

HSE  stands for  Health ,  Safety and Environment . It is also common to use the acronym translated for this term in companies, which is the SSMA.

The term is used to refer to the department that must exist in companies and that is in charge of managing the risks related to  occupational health and safety , to which their workers are exposed in daily operations, in addition to following established practices. for the preservation of the environment.

The need to have this department becomes even more evident as the company grows in number of employees and also in fields. There are a number of rules and laws that must be followed.

• There are precise adaptations in work environments that deal with fires or substances that are harmful to health. Just as it is necessary to reduce the impact on the environment with the items that are discarded by the company.

In such cases, it is necessary to add regulatory requirements for each of these elements in internal policies. 

This is essential to make it clear that  HSE  or SSMA has an important role in the development of measures that meet the needs of the company, in compliance with the regulations.

How is the work of HSE or SSMA carried out in companies?

Once you know what  HSE  really stands for within companies, you need to start implementing it.

The search for knowledge related to each one of them in the 3 sectors will help to find ways for the training and qualification of professionals. They will be the ones who will assume the responsibilities of carrying out the different precise functions at the moment of applying  HSE in the company .

In general, the people who work directly in this area are known as SMS professionals ( Occupational Safety, Environment  and  Occupational Health ). 

If your organization is large enough, you may already have an SMS team. She is usually an expert in solving any incident in the work environment.

Thinking practically, SMS work requires professionals to have knowledge of laws, regulations and codes. 

Obviously, they have to be on the health, safety and environmental fronts of a country, as well as in the industry or industry standards that the company operates.

The fact is that unsuspecting companies, which do not focus their work on  HSE items , are the ones that suffer the greatest losses. Consequently, it is necessary to pay attention to the 3 items, since each one of them has its specific rules. 

Health

The purpose of working in HSE when it comes to health is clear:

• Offer a work space that is not harmful to officials.

And for that it is necessary to follow certain points such as:

• Eliminate risk factors;
• Comply with legal requirements regarding occupational safety;
• Carry out awareness campaigns on illnesses and injuries.

Security

Here the central purpose is to ensure that everyone can carry out their activities in a safe environment. Therefore, the work will be carried out based on points such as:

• Prevention of each and every one of the incidents and accidents that may result in security risks;
• Alert everyone to the importance of following the established rules.

Environment

Already focusing on the sustainable line of HSE, the points worked so that the performance of the company is not harmful to the environment are:

• Develop sustainable practices and actions within the work environment;
• Identify points for improvement in waste disposal practices.

Steps to meet HSE requirements

1. Do workouts

The first step to be able to start all actions related to  HSE  is to develop concrete training for your internal teams. Ideally, they are not only for those who will work directly to ensure compliance with these standards, but also for the entire group of company officials.

Training professionals is essential to prevent the lack of knowledge of the rules from being one of the reasons for not following each one of them.

The moment the organization communicates this relevance, it becomes much easier to create practical actions. So you can count on everyone’s cooperation.

2. Create a routine to check processes

How can companies ensure that HSE standards are met in the organizational environment? Creating routines to contrast and control all actions.

HSE or EHS teams   should closely monitor each element. This is especially important because it is directly related to the various laws and regulations that these teams must be aware of and follow. Only in this way is it possible to keep officials safe and in compliance with the rules.

3. Delimit the list of elements to verify and how to solve each one 

It is also essential to have a detailed checklist with all the items that need to go through the verification process. This step will make verification work easier.

But you cannot be satisfied completing this step simply by listing the items. It is also necessary to prepare a sequence of actions that must be done when something does not go as planned.

The inconveniences have to be adjusted and, consequently, those responsible for these adjustments must be notified when something goes wrong.

4. Use management and control systems

Many organizations still make the mistake of keeping any and all paper records to do all the work we’ve seen so far. But, what happens if there is no platform that centralizes the information and notifies those responsible?

In such cases, it does not make sense to create a series of action plans to correct items that are out of compliance with HSE standards  .

Therefore, having a digital system to manage controls and action plans is one of the mandatory steps. And it must be followed for all companies that need to comply with each and every one of the actions related to the  HSE standard .

The best option is to look for a solution that offers both a platform to create and manage the checklists that you need to apply, as well as the reporting and analysis area.