James B. Porter Jr.

Simply stated, process safety is a management system implemented to prevent major incidents involving hazardous materials. It is necessary for managing complex process operations. An effective process safety management system focuses on three important aspects of your business:

Process safety management (PSM) is a term that is most frequently used in highly hazardous industries like oil refining, gas processing and chemical manufacturing. However, PSM could apply to any industry where people are working in and around any hazardous equipment or environment. 

Our most recent column (October 2017, pp. 16-17) covered part one (of three) in developing an actionable safety plan. First we described some key First Actions in implementation. Below we describe the three action areas. Part three will detail Sustaining Actions.

Your plan must be based on your organization's vision for future safety performance. Frame it as a set of actions that will: Further a safety culture change from reactive to proactive, provide the functioning capability to lead the change, and provide governance requirements to sustain the change.

Before you can begin the journey toward the goal of zero injuries and incidents, leaders must believe it’s possible. Many people argue that “zero” isn’t possible — it is a proven truth that can be seen in every area of human endeavor.

Effective asset management and operations are the life blood of any business. The old adage of “grow or die” applies universally, so all work must be executed to deliver business success, or the business will not be competitive and eventually will cease to exist.