For SMEs - ISO

for SMEsInternational Organizationfor StandardizationISO Central SecretariatCh. de Blandonnet 8Case Postale 401CH – 1214 Vernier, GenevaSwitzerlandiso.org ISO, 2016All rights reservedISBN 978-92-67-10665-6COVER - ISO 21101 Safety Management in Adventure Tourism - A practical guide for SMEs.indd 1-3for SMEsISO 21101 : Adventure tourism – Safety management systems – A practical guide for SMEsAdventure tourism is a “ people business ”.By its very nature it involves risks. Providers need to manage those risks, so participants and staff stay safe. The consequencesof not doing so can be catastrophic.ISO 21101 : Adventure tourism – Safetymanagement systems – A practical guidefor SME s provides guidance for smallbusinesses to design and implementsafety management systems followingthe requirements of ISO 21101. An effective safety management system willhelp businesses enhance their safetyperformance, demonstrate safe practiceand support compliance with applicablelegal requirements.ISO 21101Adventure tourism –Safety management systems2016-07-06 09:57:01

for SMEsa practical guidefor SMEsISO 21101Adventure tourism –Safety management systems21101 handbook en.indd1COVER- ISO 21101 Safety Managementin Adventure Tourism - A practical guide for SMEs.indd 42016-11-07 07:58:4110:49:432016-07-06

Copyright protected documentAll rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilizedotherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting onthe internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from eitherISO at the address below or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester. ISO 2016. Published in SwitzerlandISBN 978-92-67-10665-6ISO copyright officeCP 401 CH -1214 Vernier, GenevaTel. 41 22 749 01 11Fax. 41 22 749 09 47E-mail copyright@iso.orgWeb www.iso.org2 ISO 21101: Adventure tourism — Safety management systems — A practical guide for SMEs21101 handbook en.indd 22016-11-07 10:49:43

About the AuthorsMary Beth Cook is a Director at Cook & Associates Limited. Ms Cook has25 years’ experience in audit, risk and assurance. She has written standardsand supporting guides for a number of sectors, including sport and recreation.She was a member of the New Zealand delegation to TC 228: Tourism andparticipated in the development of ISO 21101, ISO 21103 and ISO/TR 21102.Garth Gulley is a Director at Waitoa NZ Limited, a New Zealand firm offeringadvice and support to the domestic and international adventure tourism sector.Mr Gulley has over 30 years’ experience in managing adventure activities,including auditing, policy development and standards setting. He served asthe Head of New Zealand delegation to TC 228: Tourism and played a key rolein the development of ISO 21101, ISO 21103 and ISO/TR 21102.AcknowledgementsISO published this handbook to support the implementation by SMEs ofISO 21101 Adventure tourism – Safety management systems – Requirements,which was developed by ISO/TC 228.ISO wishes to thank the authors Garth Gulley and Mary Beth Cook, in additionto José Augusto A.K. Pinto de Abreu for providing feedback on the handbook.Views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of ISO.ISO 21101: Adventure tourism — Safety management systems — A practical guide for SMEs 321101 handbook en.indd 32016-11-07 10:49:43

Contents PageForeword. 6Introduction.71Preparing to plan your SMS. 91.1Getting started.91.2Context.101.3Interested parties. 131.4Legal requirements. 152Planning your SMS. 192.1Scope. 192.2Policy. 212.3Setting objectives and planning to achieve them.232.4Risks and opportunities.252.5Activity risk management.283The role of top management. 333.1Leadership.333.2Roles, responsibilities and authority.353.3Awareness.364Supporting your SMS. 394.1Resources.394.2Competence.424.3Documentation. 445Operating your SMS. 515.1Operational processes. 515.2Operational plans.545.3Emergencies.585.4Managing incidents.626Communicating and consulting. 676.1Determining the need to communicate about your SMS. 676.2Communicating and consulting with staff. 686.3Communicating with participants. 697Continually improving your SMS.757.1Introduction. 757.2Responding to safety problems. 764 ISO 21101: Adventure tourism — Safety management systems — A practical guide for SMEs21101 handbook en.indd 42016-11-07 10:49:43

7.3Performance evaluation. 777.4Internal audit. 797.5Management review.83Annex A — Further reading. 85ISO 21101: Adventure tourism — Safety management systems — A practical guide for SMEs 521101 handbook en.indd 52016-11-07 10:49:43

ForewordAdventure tourism is a ‘people business’. All adventure tourism organisations,no matter where they operate in the world, are responsible for people’s safety.Adventure tourism activities involve risks, and providers have to manage thoserisks. The consequences of not doing so can be catastrophic.Although all providers manage safety to some extent, some may take a lesssystematic approach than others. To promote a more systematic approachto managing safety in adventure tourism, ISO has published ISO 21101:2014Adventure tourism — Safety management systems — Requirements. The Standard sets out the requirements for a safety management system (SMS) that canbe used by all types and sizes of providers, operating in different geographic,cultural and social environments.A provider can use ISO 21101 to: enhance safety performance meet expectations for participant and staff safety demonstrate safe practice support compliance with applicable legal requirements.The benefits of having an SMS that conforms to the Standard could includea better safety record, a strong reputation as a safe provider, and improvedservice delivery overall. This, in turn, could lead to positive feedback fromparticipants, more bookings, revenue growth, better staff engagement, andimproved relations with business partners, suppliers, regulators and otherinterested parties.6 ISO 21101: Adventure tourism — Safety management systems — A practical guide for SMEs21101 handbook en.indd 62016-11-07 10:49:43

IntroductionThis guide is designed to help you apply ISO 21101 to develop, implement andcontinually improve an SMS for your adventure tourism activities. It is aimedprimarily at small businesses.The guide sets out a logical sequence of activities, and it can be useful to workthrough it in order. However, there may be times when you will find it helpfulto work backwards and forwards as you develop aspects of your SMS andclarify your understanding of the requirements. Doing so may assist you tostay focused on the ‘big picture’ — the entire SMS — if you find yourself gettinghung up on the detail.Each section of the guide starts with a question to stimulate thinking anddiscussion. Even though some of these questions could be answered as a ‘yes’,you are encouraged to read the section in detail to ensure that you are meetingall of the requirements of the Standard. After explaining the importance ofthe requirement, further questions and guidance delve deeper into what isneeded and how you can achieve it.While this book provides some guidance on how to meet every requirementin the Standard, the guidance is necessarily generic due to the diversity ofthe global adventure tourism sector. The guide provides some examples andillustrations, but do not limit your thinking to them. Take your own situationand unique circumstances into account.In addition, some of the concepts in the Standard, such as planning and riskmanagement, have whole fields of study devoted to them. The guide will helpyou to meet the requirements of the Standard, but we encourage you to extendyour knowledge of the various concepts as part of your continual improvementprocess.Two other ISO publications relate to adventure tourism. ISO 21103:2014 Adventure tourism — Information for participants specifies the minimum requirements for information to be provided to participants, before, during and afteradventure tourism activities. Some elements from this Standard have beenincorporated into 6.3, Communicating with participants.ISO 21101: Adventure tourism — Safety management systems — A practical guide for SMEs 721101 handbook en.indd 72016-11-07 10:49:43

ISO/TR 21102:2013 Adventure tourism — Leaders — Personnel competence setsout desirable competencies and the related expected results of competencies foradventure tourism activity leaders common to any adventure tourism activity.This guide does not set out the exact text of ISO 21101. You can purchase acopy of the Standard — and the other publications mentioned — from yournational standards body or from ISO directly at sales@iso.org or through thewebsite www.iso.org.8 ISO 21101: Adventure tourism — Safety management systems — A practical guide for SMEs21101 handbook en.indd 82016-11-07 10:49:43

1Preparing to plan your SMS1.1Getting startedDo you have an SMS? If so — is it consistent with the Standard?What is an SMS?A management system is a set of interacting elements within an organisation to establish policies and objectives, and the processes to achievethe objectives.An SMS is a management system that is focused on safety. The interacting elements of your SMS could include processes, tools, people, andapproaches. Your SMS will be documented, but it is much more than whatyou put on paper — it is the actual things that you do to keep your staffand participants safe.Why is this important?Making a decision to establish an SMS consistent with the Standard demonstrates your commitment to providing safe adventure activities.While you may already have some of the elements of an SMS, workingthrough this guide will help you to ensure that your SMS is complete andinteractive. It will assist you to tie together these elements into a cohesive,documented system that you can continually review and improve.How do you develop and implement an SMS?The rest of this handbook provides guidance on what to put in place andhow to do it.ISO 21101: Adventure tourism — Safety management systems — A practical guide for SMEs 921101 handbook en.indd 92016-11-07 10:49:43

Adventure tourism is a “ people business ”. By its very nature it involves risks. Provid-ers need to manage those risks, so partici-pants and staff stay safe. The consequences of not doing so can be catastrophic. ISO 21101 : Adventure tourism – Safety management systems – A practical guide for SMEs provides guidance for small businesses to design and implement safety management systems .