Risk management nonprescriptive

The nonprescriptive nature of process risk management means that it is difficult to develop schedules. This is one reason why it is particularly important to dividing the work into manageable sub-projects, otherwise the task will seem overwhelming. Each phase of the project (and each element within each phase) should be scheduled using normal project management techniques. 

Nonprescriptive management programs have to be performance based because the only measure of success is success. Hence the only true measure of success of the program is not to have incidents. But from a theoretical point of view, such a goal is impossible to achieve. No matter how well-run a facility may be, accidents will occur risk can never be zero. For this reason some risk management professionals chose not to use the term compliance on the grounds that true compliance can never be reahzed. Because risk can never be zero, there are always ways of improving safety and operability. 

Duty-holder responsibility Participation and commitment Information availability Nonprescriptive and performance-based Risk management system Management systems Living document Auditor/assessor responsibility. 

The nonprescriptive nature of the safety case means that the structure and organization of the documentation will vary according to the needs of the facility. The risks and management activities associated with a nuclear power plant, for example, are quite different from those for a freight railroad. Therefore, the respective safety cases are likely to be quite different. Nevertheless, it will usually be found that a Safety Case has three principal sections ... 

As discussed in Chapter 1, the management of risk offshore involves an ongoing debate between prescriptive and nonprescriptive approaches to safety management. The trend for decades, as evidenced in The Cullen Report, has been toward nonprescriptive standards. The report suggests that it still remains important to understand that prescriptive rules play an important role. 

Two of the key standards to do with safety instrumentation are EC 61511 and lEC 61508. They are performance-based, nonprescriptive standards that provide a detailed framework and a lifecycle approach for the design, implementation, and management of safety systems applicable to a variety of sectors with different levels of risk definition. 

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