Safety Management System and Business Continuity Planning Considering COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the fragility of individuals, businesses, and societies against the environmental risks. In particular, businesses have been caught flat-footed since it was an unanticipated and unprecedented crisis that impacted the most valuable asset of an organization: human resources. While incorporating the retrospective views on safety and risk management, this chapter tries to explain the significance of establishing a safety management system and developing business continuity planning from a contemporary perspective to protect occupational health and safety and attain organizational resilience in case of a pandemic or disaster. This chapter provides a conceptual overview and better understanding of safety management and business continuity practices to ensure survival and sustainability of organizations. To obtain insight and intersectoral learning, examples are given from the civil aviation sector that has been one of the most vulnerable industries during the pandemic.