What Is Process Safety Management and Why Is It Important?
Too many organisations in the UK rely heavily on failure data to monitor performance, so improvements or changes are only determined after something has gone wrong. When looking at the safety of employees, this kind of “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude to process safety management can have serious implications when things do go wrong.
Each COMAH site has its own set of unique challenges and safety concerns, for this reason it is difficult to design a “one size fits all” approach to mitigating risk or solving process safety issues. Let’s take a look at what process safety management is and why it’s important to integrate PSM into your safety blueprint.
Process Safety Management: A Brief Overview
Process Safety Management (PSM) looks at all major hazards that have an impact on the safety of employees, the safety of the environment as well as business losses.
COMAH sites such as oil & gas, process & chemical industries always have a strong process safety management plan in place, however even a strong process safety management program is subject to wear and tear if not properly maintained.
The HSE expects senior managers and safety professionals within major hazard organisations to implement measures to ensure that their plants are operated and maintained in a safe manner.
Early warning of dangerous deterioration within critical systems provides an opportunity to avoid major incidents. There are a number of process safety indicators that can be used to give improved assurance that major hazard risks are under control.
Knowing that process risks are effectively controlled will help us all sleep better at night! As well as a good night’s sleep, time and time again, data suggests that good process safety management has a direct link with business efficiency, as several indicators can be used to show plant availability and optimised operating conditions.
How to Implement Effective Process Safety Management into Your Organisation
Even a strong PSM strategy is subject to wear and tear if not properly maintained.
In order to maintain optimal performance of your plant, it’s imperative that you continually review your process safety management and that you can support its integrity to the regulators.
This requires regular support from senior leadership as well as continual training to keep your workforce engaged and informed. This will help your team feel fulfilled, organised and motivated across the board.
Let Cogent Skills help you strengthen your process safety management program to ensure a safe working environment for all. The PSMO in-house course has been designed to provide essential process safety training to the industry standard to your employees. It is delivered by a Cogent Assured Training Provider who is an expert in Process Safety.
