Guidelines for Implementing Process Safety Management

• Publisher: Wiley-AIChE
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781119243762
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Industrial Health & Safety
• Index: Technology & Engineering

The 2nd edition provides an update of information since the publication of the first edition including best practices for managing process safety developed by industry as well as incorporate the additional process safety elements. In addition the book includes a focus on maintaining and improving a Process Safety Management (PSM) System. This 2nd edition also provides "how to information to" determine process safety performance status, implement one or more new elements into an existing PSM system, maintain or improve an existing PSM system, and manage future process safety performance.

1
INTRODUCTION

Companies have been implementing process safety management (PSM) systems for over 25 years. A variety of PSM structures have been used - some based upon regulatory requirements and many more based upon evolving industry good practices. These PSM systems are designed to manage the hazards and risks associated with processes using hazardous chemicals or energy. Management of these aspects requires a PSM system to focus on nurturing the performance of equipment and people throughout the life cycle of their deployment in a facility. The adoption of PSM systems has gone global, offering many new opportunities to improve upon implementation practices of the past.

Moreover, in spite of best efforts and many opportunities for learning lessons, companies are challenged with continually improving process safety performance and efficiency, along with managing all of the other important aspects that a company must concern itself with to be safe and profitable (e.g., occupational safety, environmental, security, economic competitiveness, sustainability). Some companies face the challenge of initial implementation or continual improvement by recognizing that ultimately it is people who must perform - executives, management, staff, operations, maintenance, and contractors - whether it is in designing or executing the intended practices within a PSM system. And, we have learned that organizational and individual behaviors and culture fuel the engine that implements PSM systems - no matter whether the motivation is for regulatory compliance or simply for good business.

Ensuring that people can return home healthy and uninjured at the end of each workday, ensuring that our neighbors are unharmed, and having a safe work environment have driven many companies to pursue PSM implementation with the objective of having zero incidents. It is that goal for which this guideline was developed - to help companies pursue and achieve the "perfect process safety" vision of zero harm.

1.1 OVERVIEW

It is important to differentiate process safety from other different or broader areas (or management systems) dealing with safety at process plants. For example:

• Process safety is focused on prevention of, preparedness for, mitigation of, response to, and restoration from catastrophic releases of chemicals or energy from an industrial chemical manufacturing process associated with a facility.
• Occupational safety is focused on the prevention of injuries/illnesses to employees due to their tasks or work environment. As such, it tends to focus on hazardous energy related to their personal momentum or the momentum of objects they may be manipulating. Injuries/illnesses could result, such as slips, trips, falls, cuts, thermal burns, musculoskeletal injuries, etc.
• HSE (health, safety, and environment), or the equivalent EHS or SHE acronym, is the broader area that, in addition to process safety and occupational safety, includes occupational health (aka industrial hygiene) and management of environmental impacts.
• SHEQ&S (safety, health, environmental, quality, and security) is the broadest view of related (and hopefully integrated) management systems, as introduced and discussed in Guidelines for Integrating Management Systems and Metrics to Improve Process Safety Performance (Ref. 1.1).
• Therefore, process safety is much more than just regulatory compliance (e.g., complying with OSHA’s PSM regulation or EPA’s risk management program [RMP] rule in the United States).

Historically, most long-established petrochemical companies and facilities (1) started with an initial focus on occupational safety (over 100 years ago in some cases), (2) established occupational health programs as illnesses due to chemical exposures became a known hazard, (3) established environmental programs as public concern increased and regulations were promulgated to protect the environment, and (4) established process safety programs by the 1990s, as guidance and regulations proliferated around the world (see Section 1.2). However, many companies primarily focused their earlier accident prevention efforts on improving their process technology and human factors.

In the mid-1980s, following a series of serious chemical accidents around the world (see Table 1.1 for a summary), companies, industries, and governments began to identify management systems (or the lack thereof) as the underlying cause for these accidents. Companies were already adopting a management systems approach in regard to product quality (e.g., various Total Quality Management initiatives). Companies developed policies, industry groups published standards, and governments issued regulations, all aimed at accelerating the adoption of a management systems approach to process safety. These somewhat fragmented, initial efforts gradually evolved into integrated management systems. The integrated approach remains a very useful way to focus and adopt accident prevention activities. In recent years, inclusion of manufacturing excellence concepts has focused attention on seamless integration of efforts to sustain high levels of performance in manufacturing activities. One goal of manufacturing or operational excellence is to deeply embed PSM practices into a single, well-balanced process for managing manufacturing operations.

Table 1.1 Accidents that Affected PSM Regulatory Development in the USA and Europe

Year	Location	Deaths	Injuries
1...