(23c) Six Sigma Analysis Applied to Process Safety Systems

Process safety management is about reducing the number and severity of process safety incidents. We sought to apply the Six Sigma concept of continuous improvement to the area of process safety. To strive for further improvement in process safety we needed to methodically delve more deeply into understanding the underlying issues and causes of incidents, and to look beyond high profile events, as they are, fortunately, quite rare. We brought together a team from multiple sites to develop a standard set of criteria for incidents and looked at historical data from a select number of plants to develop our base line. We refined the incident criteria and implemented the data collection process globally. The first look at the Six Sigma analysis helped us to further hone the definitions. Ultimately, this led us to use the major categories of the OSHA PSM Standard 1910.119 for the analysis, to give us a standard reference. From there, we identified two major focus areas; where we are implementing the second level of follow up, to update global standards and approaches.

The presentation will focus on the detail of the methodology leading to the identification of mechanical integrity and training/procedures as the two major focus areas, lessons learned, overall feedback and next steps. As an added benefit, by collecting more detailed data, we identified various site specific issues for local solutions; rupture discs and hose handling.