The Argus Prism annual audit of safety management system (SMS) implementations has been released and reveals deficiencies in areas different from those of the 2011 results.

According to Argus, “The objective of this report is to highlight those recurring problem areas found in SMS implementation and execution.”

For 2012, the top areas of deficiency found in the audits of 73 operators were risk assessment (58 percent showed weakness in this area) and general operations manuals (45 percent). SMS training was a weak area for 38 percent, internal evaluation program for 36 percent, safety committee 26 percent, safety policy 23 percent, SMS manual 21 percent and hazard reporting 12 percent.

The top three weak areas in the audits of 74 operators from 2011 were general operations manuals (64 percent), safety training (47 percent) and SMS manual (38 percent). Comparing 2012 to 2011, the results show improvements in a number of areas, especially in emergency response programs.

Argus Pros (Partners and Resources for Operational Safety) and Prism Solutions are wholly owned subsidiaries of Argus International. Prism specializes in SMS implementation and IS-BAO compliance. According to  Argus, "Prism receives the audit results from Argus Pros and then Prism reviews and analyzes the report."