No Resources for Process Safety; The Dog Ate My Homework

James A Martin

Process Safety Leader-Seed Production

Corteva Agrosciences

974 Centre Road

Wilmington DE 19805-1269

James.A.Martin@Corteva.com

Keywords: PSM Culture, Employee Participation

Abstract

This paper will discuss process safety management work in a world of conflicting cost pressures, and limited resources of capital and personnel.

Over the course of a process safety professionals’ career they will likely encounter pushback regarding the resources necessary to conduct; the work/studies, train personnel, hire and retain personnel, train personnel, participate in industry consensus groups, implement management systems, and capital requirements resulting from PSM work. Reluctance of this kind possibly stems from many root causes and stumbling blocks.

• Lack of top management commitment
• Perception at various levels within the organization of cost control pressure

o Some/most of these perceptions are very real and correctly interpreted

• Lack of personnel resources, both real and imagined
• The idea that the facility is as safe as economically feasible.

o “We been doing process safety reviews for years. Nothing new to learn.”

• The idea that since the plant is designed to RAGAGEPs it is safe to operate.
• The facility is not OSHA 1910.119 covered
• PSM is for chemical plants, not our business

The creation of an effective process safety management system will encounter many of the above stumbling blocks. For instance, Lack of top management commitment or more likely lack of middle management commitment usually result from a highly competitive business culture. Strategies to navigate this obstacle as well as many others will involve various levels of management from the very top to the shop floor. However uncomfortable for technical people this strategy will involve some degree of salesmanship. The writer will discuss various techniques and the background information necessary to work with decision makers, individual contributors and shop floor employees with the goal of establishing and maintaining an effective process safety management system.