(164a) CCPS Process Safety Metrics A Global Approach

The use of global metrics is essential for companies and industries who strive to understand their process safety incidents and to improve performance.  These metrics are an important component in the comparison and evaluation of site to site, or unit to unit, performance within a company, and to help determine where focus is needed and resources should be allocated.  In addition to internal comparisons, global process safety metrics can assist companies (and industries) in benchmarking their performance with others or in comparison to an industry average or goal.

In 2007, CCPS published “Process Safety Leading and Lagging Metrics…You Don’t Know What You Don’t Measure” (available for free download at http://www.aiche.org/sites/default/files/docs/embedded-pfd/CCPS_ProcessSafety2011_2-24-web.pdf). The definitions established in the document were a key input to the creation of the existing ANSI / API standard (ANSI/API RP 754) which was finalized and released in April 2010, with CCPS support.  In 2011, CCPS updated their metrics publication with the intent of aligning CCPS and API documents.  CCPS went further in 2013 to develop the use of process safety leading and lagging indicators by publishing the results of a member company survey “Process Safety Leading Indicators Industry Survey” (free download at http://www.aiche.org/sites/default/files/docs/pages/8404_leading.web_v2.pdf). This publication provides an update on the chemical, petroleum and other process industries in the use, direction and effectiveness of leading indicators to help drive performance improvement and the reduction in the number and severity of process safety incidents.

API is in the final reviews of the revisions to RP 754.  CCPS was part of the review panel and worked closely to provide input to the revisions.   Once the final document is issued, CCPS plans to review and update the “Process Safety Leading and Lagging Metrics…You Don’t Know What You Don’t Measure” and align information so that these documents can be used consistently on a global basis.  In addition, CCPS is in the process of updating the Reactive Chemistry Worksheet tool to version 4.0 and updating the Process Safety Incident Evaluation Tool with an app for each to be developed following their releases.

This presentation will discuss the CCPS metrics tools, and ongoing work towards global metrics.