Three Words: Process Safety Management
One way of defining and understanding the discipline of Process Safety Management (PSM) is to consider the three words that make up that phrase.
The first word is Safety. Most companies in the process and energy industries treat safety as their top priority. But achieving high levels of safety on complex and technically sophisticated facilities is difficult, so process safety management (PSM) programs are needed. These companies also have to also need to meet the requirements of an increasingly wide range of process safety regulations and industrial standards. However, a program that improves safety is also likely to improve other aspects of the operation ― particularly reliability and quality. A well-managed operation is one that will be successful in many areas. Therefore, process safety management is not just about safety.
The next word to consider is Process. In this context the word Process refers to those facilities that possess the following two attributes. First, they handle highly hazardous or flammable chemicals ― often at high temperatures and pressures in large quantities. Second, their operations and the technologies that they use are very complex. Hence, simple, behavior-based safety programs are inadequate.
PSM is not new; indeed it has always been an integral part of the process industries. Companies have always carried out activities such as the writing of procedures, planning for emergencies, training of operators and the investigation of incidents. But it was in the late 1980s and early 1990s that PSM programs became more formalized and regulated. By then it had become clear that new methods for achieving safe operations were needed. In response to this need, the formal discipline of process safety management started in the chemical and petrochemical industries. From there, its use quickly spread to related areas such as oil refineries and offshore oil and gas platforms. We are now seeing other industries, such as railroads, use process safety management concepts. (This is a two-way street ― many of the principles of process safety came from unrelated business areas such as nuclear power and military aviation.)
This brings us to the final word: Management. High levels of safety can only be achieved through the development and implementation of appropriate management techniques that eventually build a safety culture. In the context of process safety, companies generally have three levels of management. Senior managers set the overall goals, and provide the necessary funds. The middle managers organize the details of process safety programs and allocate resources, particularly the availability of skilled and experienced personnel. At the third level, line managers such as supervisors and senior technicians are the ones who implement the process safety programs. (A similar structure applies to design projects; the design engineers are the equivalent of senior technicians.)
This way of looking at process safety management means that the discipline covers all aspects of a company’s operations, not just technical topics such as vapor dispersion and hazard identification. Equally important are analyses to do with human behavior and the company’s organization.
