The purpose of writing down the best procedure for a particular operation in a safety management system is to standardize operations in order to minimize human error. Safety management systems (SMS) vary greatly regarding their content, even within the same industry. That’s because it’s up to the company using it, or developing it, to determine which operations should be included. Some regulatory requirements, or industry programs, dictate what topics require policies and procedures, but most provide general headings. For example, the International Safety Management (ISM) Code provides a general outline such as Section 7 – Shipboard Operations. The company is expected to fill in the blanks.