(55an) Process Safety Knowledge Management: Transitioning from Information to Knowledge

Process Safety Knowledge Management (PSKM) is a subset of the Knowledge Management (KM) field focusing on building, disseminating, and sustaining the Process Safety Knowledge (PSK) in an organization. By systematically implementing already existing information and knowledge management tools in Process Safety programs, PSKM provides a system for capturing, organizing, maintaining, and providing the right process safety knowledge to the right people at the right time to improve process safety in an organization.

Failures in Providing, Maintaining, Organizing, and Capturing Process Safety Knowledge could prevent an organization from successfully turning Information into Knowledge hence impeding its capability to ensure a safe work environment for its employees, its contractors, and its community.

In this paper, we will introduce the core components of a successful PSKM Program: People, Process, Technology, Organizational Structure, and Culture. Case studies along with a corresponding PSKM Focus Chart (a graphical tool to identify points of failure in the flow of knowledge) will illustrate how failures in a PSKM System might lead to an incident.