Principles of process safety leadership

Process Safety Leadership Group (PSLG) is committed to improving process safety in the industries we represent. We believe that to achieve this, industry leaders have a critical role to play and must commit to establishing the following principles of process safety management in each business  

The PSLG regards these principles as fundamental to the successful management of a major hazard industry. We will work with all stakeholders to establish them as foundations to effective management of risks in our businesses via the following arrangements  

Head of Chemical Industries Division Hazardous Installations Directorate Health and Safety Executive 

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To demonstrate the importance of culture and leadership in the delivery of a high reliability organisation, PSLG has published Principles of Process Safety Leadership. The principles can be found in Appendix 7 of this report. They should be adopted by individual dutyholders. Further guidance is provided in Appendix 5. 

Several initiatives have been launched by trade associations to address the issues of delivering high performance in process safety management, aligning with the PSLG Principles of Process Safety Leadership. 

Safety is one business management or leadership principle that requires bottom-up involvement. The decision that the immediate researchers made to produce one large batch instead of several smaller ones is completely reasonable within their area of work practice, but because they were not represented in the decision-making process, communication failed to reach the bottom level. Failure to reach the action or user level is a common failure of any system. Because safety directly relies on the correct implementation of practices at the user level, it must involve them in a collaborative leadership style. 

Starting a safety improvement process and maintaining it over the long term requires the three essential support processes depicted in Figure 19.3. Leaders are needed to champion new principles and procedures. In fact, leadership makes the difference between a "flavor of the month" safety initiative and a long-term continuous improvement process. 

My colleagues and I at Safety Performance Solutions have seen the principles and procedures presented in this book lead to remarkable success and, eventually, a Total Safety Culture. All too often, however, we have seen good intentions and superb introductory instruction fizzle out and go nowhere. Why It is a matter of leadership. You can launch a process with excellent education and training, but you cannot keep the momentum going without individuals who provide energy, enthusiasm, and the right example. This section covers some essentials of effective leadership. 

Operational Excellence (OE) Operational Excellence (OE) is an element of organizational leadership that stresses the application of a variety of principles, systems, and tools toward the sustainable improvement and industry leading performance of the organization, which can be measured by key performance indicators. The process involves focusing on customer needs, keeping employees positive and empowered and continuous improvement of activities in the workplace, while adhering to the highest standards for Safety, Health, and Environmental Stewardship in a Cost-Effective and Profitable maimer. 

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