Operational risk management overview

ERPs do not necessarily need to be one document. They may consist of an overview document, individual emergency action procedures, checklists, additions to existing operations manuals, appendices, etc. There may be separate, more detailed plans for specific incidents. There may be plans that do not include particularly sensitive information and those that do. Existing applicable documents should be referenced in the ERP (e.g., chemical Risk Management Program, contamination response). 

The secret to risk management is taking a holistic approach. The framework in Figure 2.9 gives an overview. It is not sufficient to focus only on the high probability, high impact events. Risks in all four quadrants need to be managed as a part of normal operations. 

Alarms for which an operator or facility worker is required to evacuate an area (e.g., fire and gas alarms) and are not intended to direct the operator to take action on the process are generally not considered safety instrumented functions. These alarms should not be allocated to the BPCS but may be allocated to the SIS or to another independent protection layer. Refer to Annex F, Figure F.1, for an overview of protection layers. These alarms are generally classified as safety-related and are designed and managed in a manner that supports the allocated risk reduction. 

The National Commission Report to President Obama that was written in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster provides a useful overview of the creation of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) in 1982, and also of the tensions that existed from its very inception between its two functions the collection of (very substantial) revenue for the United States government, and ensuring that offshore operations were conducted safely. The Commission s report indicates that the move toward risk-based analysis that had occurred in many other nations was opposed both by industry organizations and governmental bodies in the United States in the years leading up to the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe. 

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