Safety Energy Loop Framework (SELF)
The Governance Check is only one part of the Safety Energy Loop Framework (SELF).
This survey assesses the Governance Core of your safety management system. Governance is the part most organisations think is working, but is often where the real gaps sit.
The Safety Energy Loop Framework looks at the entire system that turns safety from paperwork into reliable operational performance.
Governance & Accountability
Who owns safety and how decisions are made
This pillar tests whether leaders genuinely own safety, how risk decisions are structured, and whether legal duties and risk boundaries are embedded into real decision making.
Most systems have documents here. Few have governance that works under pressure.
Risk & Control
Are critical risks are known and controlled
This pillar examines how hazards are identified, how risks are assessed, what controls are required, and how those controls are verified in practice.
This is where many systems look strong on paper but fail in reality.
Operational Delivery
How safety is built into everyday work
This pillar looks at how work is planned, how competence is ensured, how contractors are managed, and whether emergency readiness is credible.
This is where systems either live in the field or die in folders.
Learning & Improvement
How the system adapts and gets stronger
This pillar reviews how incidents, performance data, audits, and operational experience are used to strengthen the system and improve decision rules.
This is what separates static systems from resilient ones.
Governance & Accountability Pillar
What is covered?
This pillar examines how safety is governed at the highest level of your organisation. It looks at whether leaders truly own safety, how risk decisions are made, what rules guide those decisions, and whether real operational information can influence and improve them.
Leadership & Accountability
This category tests whether leaders clearly define what safety means, whether they are formally accountable for system performance, and whether their decisions consistently reflect that ownership.
Decision Rights & Structure
This category examines whether there is a clear structure for making and escalating safety decisions, and whether governance forums actively support risk-informed decision-making.
Legal & Risk
This category looks at whether legal duties and risk boundaries are translated into practical decision rules that guide planning, approvals, and operational choices across the organisation.
Escalation & Speaking-Up
This category assesses whether people feel safe to raise concerns, whether bad news reaches leaders, and whether learning from incidents genuinely changes how decisions are made.