Product Safety fact sheet

What is BAE Systems’ approach to Product Safety? 

We are responsible for ensuring that the products we deliver both conform to their design and achieve an agreed level of safety and quality with our customer. We do this by complying with our Product Safety and Quality policies and processes. 
 
Product Safety is a generic term used to embrace activities undertaken to remove the hazards or mitigate the risk of unintentional harm to people, property and the environment from products, when used either for their intended purpose or in reasonably foreseeable ways, including their disposal. 
 
Product Safety management is the application of engineering, and cross functional management principles and techniques to reduce the risk of safety hazards associated with products. This applies to all phases of the product lifecycle and throughout the supply chain. 
 
Product Safety is embedded at the design stage and continually reviewed to maximise safety in the manufacture and use of our products.

What is defined as a product?

A product is defined by BAE Systems as any goods or services, including intellectual property, developed or traded by BAE Systems. This could be physical such as a platform or sub-system, non-physical such as software or a design licence, or a service such as a maintenance plan or support training package. Our policies and practices apply throughout a product’s lifecycle, and may extend beyond the formal end of a project or programme. 

Do you have a Product Safety policy?

We have a global Product Safety Policy, which is part of our Operational Framework. 
 
Compliance against this policy is provided through Quarterly Business Reviews, Chief Executive Business Reviews, Operational Assurance Statements and through independent audit (both internal and external). This policy is underpinned by a global Product Safety Management System (PSMS) Framework, which manages risk of harm to people, property and the environment. The policy is owned by the Chief Technology and Information Officer who is a member of our Executive Committee. Product Safety risk is reviewed by Group Internal Audit on behalf of the Board along with other pertinent risks to the Group to ensure they are understood and independently audited.
 
The policy sets out four principles that describe our approach to the safety of products: accountability; level of safety; conforming products; and learning and sharing information. They apply throughout the life of the product and throughout the supply chain. 
 
The Product Safety Policy is supported by other global policies, including the Health and Safety Policy, Climate Response and Environment Policy, Flying Operations Policy and Business Continuity Management and Crisis Management Policy. It is also underpinned by business Product Safety policies, business level PSMS, Product Safety procedures, product manager handbooks and Safety Management Plans. 
 
Our businesses are accountable for ensuring that the products they deliver both conform to their design and achieve a specified level of safety, each as agreed with our customer. 
 
Our Corporate Product Safety Working Group meets six times a year, and brings together representatives from across the Company to ensure we are working together in a consistent manner to ensure the safety of our products. This group reports into and is tasked by the Corporate Engineering Council with outputs linked to the Corporate Engineering Strategy. Each Sector has its own Product Safety Working Group, which are often supported by Functional/Project Working Groups, which actively manage Product Safety and oversee Product Safety reviews throughout that business on behalf of the Line Leader and the Product Safety Sponsor.
 
Our global Lifecycle Management Handbook on Product Safety management provides guidance on Product Safety management to businesses regarding how to comply with Product Safety requirements, including how Product Safety can be incorporated into occupational health and safety, quality, product environment and sustainability, workplace environmental management, disaster and emergency management, responsible trading risks, operations and manufacturing, supply chain and procurement. The handbook is supported by additional guidance on specific aspects of Product Safety, including principles of Product Safety, framework for safety management, safety management within projects and safety report, sharing, assurance and review.
 
Product Safety maturity matrices are used across the Company to provide a level of visual management during business reviews. These matrices allow the accountable and responsible individuals across the business to easily identify areas of interest that can be focused on. Whilst each business will have slightly different matrices in line with the requirements of that business, the principle is the same.
 
Each Sector has a Product Safety Sponsor, i.e., the Engineering Authority, who is appointed by the Sector Line Leader to discharge Product Safety on their behalf in support of the Business Line Leaders. 
 
Product Managers are senior leaders within the business who may be appointed by the Business Line Leaders to further discharge Product Safety on their behalf. Product Managers generally have access to finances that the Product Safety Sponsor does not, allowing them to resolve Product Safety issues that have a budgetary requirement.  

Our approach to identifying and assessing Product Safety risks is embedded within our approach to risk management.
 
Guidance for employees on Product Safety is included within our global Code of Conduct.

How do you manage risks relating to Product Safety?

We use PSMS to manage risk of harm to people, property and the environment. Within these systems our businesses work with their customers to understand the risks associated with the intended product use, to agree the highest practicable level of safety and then deliver products that conform to that agreed level.
 
The level of safety required for each product is achieved through the application of robust processes and the thoughtful and responsible attitudes and behaviours of many individuals who are alert to the safety implications of their actions whilst working within a PSMS. It should be noted that the PSMS is only one of a number of business units management systems that are integrated together to ensure cross-functional involvement in delivering safe and conforming products.
 
Product Safety risk assessments are part of the Product Safety Management Systems.
 
Our PSMS are compliant with national standards for Product Safety such as Def Stan 00-056, Mil Std 882 etc.
 
A summary of our Product Safety Policy can be found here. 

Do employees receive training on Product Safety?

Employees receive communications on Product Safety and it is included within our Code of Conduct and supporting awareness campaign.
 
Targeted Product Safety training is rolled out to specific job roles and functions, for example there is a Company-wide Product Safety Electronic Training Module as a baseline for all engineers across the Company, followed by specific face to face training courses for those in specialist roles. One such course is externally delivered by a partner university to ensure an external review of the suitability of the course content. Manufacturing, Maintenance, Operational and Quality areas undertake courses in line with their relevant MOD counterparts, in some cases undertaking the training with their customers. Our employees provide training for our suppliers on Product Safety.
 
We also have targeted Product Safety communications, for example, Product Safety Bulletins focused on sharing internal and external incidents and best practice, Product Safety Alerts focusing on Product Safety issues in the supply chain, collaboration sites and customers. We also provide informal webinars to our employees presented by subject matter experts from inside the business to speak on their experiences and what innovations the business is currently undertaking to further improve Product Safety.

Do you test emergency response procedures to ensure Product Safety?

Each business has emergency response procedures in place to address specific, material Product Safety risks of that business. Emergency response procedures will include roles and responsibilities, training and competencies, investigation process and regular testing of the procedures including conducting desktop and live exercises which can involve local emergency services. 
 
Our Product Safety emergency response procedures are underpinned by our global Business Continuity Management and Crisis Management Policy and procedures. This includes business continuity planning and training - desktop and live exercises, Business Continuity Management events and business recovery plans.
 
In some cases our customers attend live exercises as an observer for continuity and transparency.

How do you investigate Product Safety incidents?

Our businesses investigate all Product Safety related incidents and accidents in line with industry and regulatory standards of practice to ensure that the cause of the event is established and that appropriate corrective actions are identified and implemented.
 
Product Safety related investigations are carried out by appropriately qualified, independent and experienced individuals in line with our Business Continuity Management and Crisis Management Policy. 

Do you have Product Safety objectives or targets?

Whilst mandates are in place to ensure BAE Systems achieves its requirements against various external regulatory standards and other similar commitments both internally and externally, BAE Systems focuses its Product Safety approach on the identification of operational hazards and associated operational risks. Once operational risks and risk mitigations are understood and agreed with our customers, users, suppliers and partners, we ensure that we work to continually assess and reduce the identified risks with those stakeholders to always be as low as practicable. Therefore in the context of this risk reduction process we set targets to ensure identified risks are both tolerable and as low as reasonably practicable.

Do you conduct internal and external Product Safety audits?

We conduct internal and external Product Safety audits using a risk based approach. These audits are based on an Audit Schedule owned by the local audit teams or the Group Internal Audit team. We also conduct ongoing reviews with customers and suppliers throughout the life of each Product.
 
External audits include external review of our emergency response procedures, audit of our Product Safety processes for insurance purposes and to assure any regulatory bodies that we are cognisant of Product Safety within our businesses.

What is BAE Systems’ approach to Product Safety within the supply chain?

Our approach to Product Safety applies through our supply chain, and our suppliers’ responsibilities are set out in our Supplier Code of Conduct (formerly Supplier Principles - Guidance for Responsible Business). 
 
We use a risk-based approach to assure our global supply base, identify risks, and confirm our suppliers’ adoption of the Supplier Code of Conduct. Additionally, we seek to prevent the use of counterfeit parts through the inclusion of express contractual obligations - Product Safety clauses are included within our supplier contracts.
 
In our 2023 assurance activity, we covered 30% of global spend. We also look to procure directly from Original Equipment Manufacturers where possible, or accredited distributors, to further reduce the risk.

Do you publicly report on Product Safety issues?

Yes, we report in line with government customer requirements. For example, our Air Sector reports air safety concerns and incidents under the Air Safety Information Management System (ASIMS). This system is globally accessible and used by defence and ministerial departments. 
 
The information contained in this fact sheet is for PLC managed businesses and is accurate as at the date of its publication.
 
Publication date: 09/05/24