Process Safety

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A process is any activity or combination of activities including any use, storage, manufacturing, handling or the on-site movement of highly hazardous chemicals (HHCs) as defined by OSHA and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Our Process safety main focus is on preventing fires, explosions and accidental chemical releases in our sites dealing with hazardous materials .

We identify and assess risks that have the potential to become an incident, and take the necessary steps to reduce or eliminate them. At the same time, we prepare for and are ready to respond to potential incidents.

This is accomplished by applying Process safety management (PSM) which is a regulation, broadcasted by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

An essential element of any improvement program is the measure of existing and future performance. In general, you do not improve what you do not measure.

As a framework for measuring activities, status, or performance, we use indicators of process safety performance. We classify process safety indicators in our sites into four tiers of leading and lagging indicators. It is a measuring tool for the performance of the process safety management system to highlight the weak points with the purpose of treating them before leading to accidents.

The purpose of process safety indicators is to identify events or conditions that could ultimately lead to higher level consequences. Indicators provide a mean to measure activity, status, or performance against requirements and goals. Monitoring and analyzing performance enables Management to take corrective actions as needed.

Lagging indicators tend to be outcome-oriented and retrospective; they describe events that have already occurred and may indicate potential recurring problems. They may include fires, releases, and explosions.

Leading indicators tend to be forward-looking and indicate the performance of the key work processes, operating discipline, or protective barriers that prevent incidents. They are designed to give an indication of potential problems or deterioration in key safety systems early enough that corrective actions may be taken.

The important point is to capture information that can be acted upon to correct a situation, to identify lessons learned, and communicate this knowledge.