Big or small, the same fortitude and careful steps are required to navigate event resolution. Whether the event involves an environmental spill, improper equipment use, property damage, or security breach, EHS managers achieve more effective project completion when they adopt a project management mindset.

Project managers know to expect an average investment of energy and time to resolve an issue, no matter its scope. Why? Because each unique project comes with the same steps required to manage it: Define, Plan, Execute, and Close. In similar fashion, EHS managers must also roll up their sleeves, define what occurred, plan a strategy, execute the steps, and close out the event.

Spearheading the resolution of an identified environmental, health, safety or security concern is already overwhelming. Lacking the proper knowledge and right tools to fix such an issue makes it even more so.

This is the reason contractors are reluctant to take on smaller projects; they realize there is no such thing as a small project. Still, EHS managers can lead their teams to achieve resolution goals for problems of any size, within a required timeline, by learning from what works in project management:

1. Simplify

Simplify the supervisor’s initial event resolution forms. These employees are likely to be unfamiliar with how to support the beginning phase of event resolution, so make it easy on them (and yourself). This will ensure your strategy’s first steps get underway quickly and off to a positive start.

2. Inclusion

Include the people, processes, and systems to be activated when defining the event. The more automated your program is, the more poised you’ll be to succeed.

3. Break Into Reasonable Tasks

Break up your EHS event management project into reasonable, time-appropriate tasks. Do not overload your team with efforts that take weeks or months. When a specific duty does necessitate a lengthy duration, divide it into subtasks. Quick wins keep people engaged. It is okay, as well, to be part of the solution yourself. If you have the bandwidth and are capable of getting all or part of an assigned task done, just do it. An example is completing a material request to purchase a replacement part. Help fill out this paperwork and then have the responsible employee simply review and submit the request. A little bit of support and appreciation goes a long way toward an overall completion goal. A wise project manager watches over the big picture but from an “all-hands-on-deck” point of view.

4. Resolve Every Issue

Do not let project tasks go unresolved; they will become corrective-actions-in-waiting. Make this your precedent as a safety manager, and stick to it. Event resolution is the lifeline of your EH&S program. Establish a culture through word and deed that failure to complete known issues is unacceptable.

5. Update Everyone

Involve your entire leadership team throughout the project’s full life cycle. Reporting updates and simple notifications along the way are practical, efficient ways to ensure all levels of management remain aware of progress (and that you retain their essential support).

Seeing a safety or security event through to its resolution point goes well beyond filling out another form. This complex work –– for both minor and major issues –– demands a different approach and a lot of finesse from the EHS professional. It demands a project management perspective. Change your mindset, and you can change the event resolution game. Learn more about how Proact can help you today.