Process Safety Management (PSM)

An integrated holistic approach

1. Overview:

To succeed in business, you must:

• Protect your license to operate
• Meet ever more demanding regulatory requirements
• Manage the sustainability of your business
• Raise stakeholder and public confidence
• Minimize and, where practicably possible, eliminate the risk of incidents

Process Safety Management, or PSM, is an OSHA standard that requires employers to identify, evaluate, and control the hazards associated with the highly hazardous chemicals used in their processes.

Unexpected releases of toxic, reactive, or flammable liquids and gases in processes involving highly hazardous chemicals have been reported for many years, in various industries using chemicals with such properties. Regardless of the industry that uses these highly hazardous chemicals, there is a potential for an accidental release any time they are not properly controlled, creating the possibility of disaster.

To help ensure safe and healthful workplaces, OSHA has issued the Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals standard (29 CFR 1910.119).

Process safety management (PSM) is addressed in specific standards for the general and construction industries. OSHA's standard emphasizes the management of hazards associated with highly hazardous chemicals and establishes a comprehensive management program that integrates technologies, procedures, and management practices.

2. MBG Support & Offer:

MBG provides technical consulting, auditing, advisory and engineering services to improve performance in the areas of compliance, operations and engineering to customers in the chemical, petrochemical, oil & gas, power, pharmaceuticals, metals and consumer industries worldwide.

A growing number of organizations are becoming increasingly aware that safety issues need to be managed in a risk-based way linked to their business needs, but also cost effectively. Good safety management must embrace the way in which people, plant and systems all inter-relate:

• Plant and equipment must be of an appropriate design standard / integrity and be adequately maintained
• Systems / procedures must be fit for purpose and practicable
• People must be adequately competent and work within a positive cultural framework that encourages safe behavior and a belief that any injury, harm or damage can be avoided

3. MBG Capability:

We are able to support clients in all aspects of process safety including:

• PSM - assessing and improving PSM performance including management systems, leadership and technical aspects
• Risk management and assessment - identifying key vulnerabilities and helping to eliminate or minimize them
• Operational human factors - practical approaches for minimizing human error and delivering positive human interactions
• Functional safety systems - improving performance across the total life cycle for safety systems to IEC 61508 and 61511

4. How to Implement Process Safety Management?

OSHA mandates that employers have a Process Safety Management (PSM) system in place that follows these 14 rules and practices.

5. MBG Approach:

The MBG approach to process safety is built on achieving sustainable risk reductions, through delivering proven solutions that can be practically implemented in potentially hazardous operations. Typically, we get involved in one of more stages of any improvement, namely;

At all stages of our involvement we work with customer teams to ensure we maximize the use of local operational experience and to share our skills and experience. This approach provides optimum solutions by combining best practice knowledge with a true understanding of operational needs

6. Benefits:

Benefits by using our proven approach, we can ensure that you:

• Are in control of all the safety aspects of your business
• Achieve the safety performance improvements needed
• Spend money on safety management and improvement in the most effective way
• Have a consistent commitment to safety throughout the business − Have access to the skills, resources and expertise required

7. Conclusion:

It is worth noting that PSM focuses on events that have perhaps occurred very infrequently in the past. Perhaps, they might never have occurred at all. But, if they do occur, they are often catastrophic. While it can be complex and expensive to understand these low-probability events, the outcomes that result when they do occur are orders of magnitude more severe.

Process Safety Management is essential for industries handling hazardous chemicals, ensuring safety, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence. A well-executed PSM program not only mitigates risks but also contributes to long-term business sustainability. Organizations must prioritize continuous improvement, employee engagement and technological advancements to strengthen their PSM frameworks and safeguard their workforce and assets.