Management system safety concepts

In this supporting discussion, the influence of system safety concepts will be evident, as will the concepts on which MORT (management oversight and risk tree) is based. 

System safety concepts promote the establishment of policies and procedures that are to achieve an effective, orderly and continuous hazards management process for the design, development, installation, and maintenance, of all facilities, materials, hardware, equipment, tooling, and products, and for their eventual disposal. 

And it is appropriate to recognize that system safety concepts were foundational in the development of MORT (management oversight and risk tree). References to system concepts are frequent in Johnson s MORT Safety Assurance Systems and in other literature on MORT. 

Organizational interfaces may pose other problems. When management does not take responsibility for decision making in the process, functional and system safety groups may be at odds with each other. Management perception is another difficulty. System-safety concepts are more abstract than those in many other disciplines. Therefore, it is important for the safety professional to structure the program so its impact is clear. 

Safety management is complex in some services due to service implementation being spread over diverse teams and locations. Offshoring requires that knowledge and appreciation of systems safety concepts and UK legislation is placed in offshore units (e.g. in India). 

Use of a variety of system safety concepts and tools, such as the order of precedence for hazard reduction, the hazard severity and probability tables, and the hazard risk matrix, will assist the analyst in determining the appropriate risk assessment code to assign to a particular hazard risk. The RAC will prioritize for management the specific level of risk associated with a specific, identified hazard concern. 

In Chapter 5, Transitions Affecting the Practice of Safety, comments were made on the revisions taking place with respect to the priorities and significance for certain elements within an Operational Risk Management Plan. In a sense, this chapter on the system safety concept continues that discussion. Transitions in progress have led to increased prominence for ... 

Companies may wish to develop workshops to train potential team members in the inherent safety review process. The workshop can provide background information on inherent safety concepts, the extensive systems required to manage hazardous materials, and information on the inherent safety review process. Videos, problems, examples, and team exercises can be included to enliven the education process. 

Implementing an inherent safety review process is one mechanism companies can use to institutionalize inherent safety. The review process should integrate well with company systems for process safety management, new product development, and project execution. Safety, health, and environmental considerations in the new product or process development effort can be strengthened via the introduction of the inherent safety review. Companies may also build inherently safer design concepts into their existing process safety management system and process hazard reviews. 

Management systems for chemical process safety are comprehensive sets of policies, procedures, and practices designed to ensure that barriers to major incidents are in place, in use, and effective. The management systems serve to integrate process safety concepts into ongoing activities of everyone involved in operations— from the chemical process operator to the chief executive officer. 

With the support and direction of its advisory and management boards, CCPS established a multifaceted program to address the need for process safety technology and management systems to reduce potential exposures to the public, the environment, personnel and facilities. Over the past several years, CCPS has extended its publication program to include a "Concept Series" of books. These books are focused on more specific topics than the longer, more comprehensive Guidelines series and are intended to complement them. With the issuance of this title, CCPS has published 80 books. 

Another interesting development is the use of the concept of internal control systems for application in other certification systems that work with smallholders such as Fairtrade and Utz Kapeh certifications. There is also interest in further developing the concept for wider application as a generic management system or total quality management system able to meet additional demands placed on the producer group, such as requirements for food safety systems (Pyburn 2004). 

Systemic safety management especially prominent after a major organisational disaster, which forces the organisation to take a fundamental look at its entire safety philosophy the appropriate view of human error is the system-induced error concept, which says that many human errors can be... 

---