The past 30 years have seen the development and maturity of Process Safety Management (PSM) and Risk Management Program (RMP) requirements. The early driving force for these concepts and the ensuing regulations were major chemical incidents at facilities throughout the world.
History of PSM/RMP milestones
Recent Incidents
Traditional approaches to managing risk include: codes and standards, insurance carrier inspections, safety checklists/inspections and P&ID reviews. Over thirty years ago there were little organized approaches to managing safety. Processes were designed with the goal of decreasing the likelihood of accidents with increasing consequences. Higher consequence accidents are less frequent, however the possibility of observing these accidents increases with plant population and operating time. The impact of off-site consequences also increases with time and changes in surrounding demographics.
Based on events described earlier, process safety has evolved into regulated programs and an industry culture. Process safety is the management of facilities that handle, use, process or store extremely hazardous materials to minimize the likelihood and consequence of catastrophic incidents. Process safety is a dynamic program involving technology, materials, equipment and personnel at a facility intended to manage risk. This risk can not be eliminated, just controlled.
History of Regulatory Activity
Industry Activity
PSM/RMP are management programs that are organized into subject elements. The subject elements include:
1) Employee Participation – Documented employee involvement in PSM/RMP
2) Process Safety Information – Hazards of the chemical, technology of process and equipment in the covered process
3) Hazard Review (RMP only) – Offsite consequence analysis of worst case and alternate case release scenario,
4) Process Hazard Analysis - Thorough, organized, systematic approach to identifying, evaluating and controlling the hazards of covered processes
5) Operating Procedures – Written instructions for safely conducting activities involved in the covered process
6) Training – Employees, involved in a covered process, trained in an overview of process and the operating procedures
7) Contractors – Management of contractors and contractor employees
8) Pre-Startup Safety Review – Review prior to startup of new or significantly modified facilities
9) Mechanical Integrity – Maintain critical process equipment to ensure proper design and that the equipment operates properly
10) Hot Work Permit – Requirements during hot work operations on or near a covered process
11) Management of Change – Manage changes (except “replacement-in-kind”) to process chemicals, technology, procedures and equipment
12) Incident Investigation – Investigation and documentation of incidents
13) Emergency Planning and Response – Written emergency action plan including provisions for training and drills
14) Compliance Audits – Documented periodic evaluation of compliance with program requirements
15) Management System (RMP only) – Administration of implementation of the RMP elements
Future installments will concentrate on each of these elements.