ABSTRACT
Excellence in safety and operations begins well in advance of the commencement of work. Although some teams that perform routine operations may think it is acceptable to show up at the job site and begin work without much forethought or planning, organizations that truly seek exceptional operations and safety performance should invest in job planning strategies and techniques. Regardless of whether work is routine, all teams that operate in high-hazard environments should conduct a thorough operational planning process prior to commencing work and ongoing reassessment as operations unfold. While there are many strategies to assist organizations with job planning and execution analysis, the process should start by examining operations as a system and designing policies, procedures, and work methods to help team members complete their jobs as safely as possible, given the operating environment and goals of the organization. Work system design is an iterative process and even after the systems have been designed, they must be tested and revised.
