Safety management system operational aspects

The purpose of a safety management system is to assist management in developing and operating a system to prevent and control accidental loss, get managers and employees involved in safety activities, and increase the effectiveness of operations within the organization. A system also defines safety authorities, responsibilities, and accountabilities and sets standards for various aspects of safety, health, and environmental protection. 

In the previous chapter, it was established that in industry, plant hazards can cause harm to property (plant—machinery, asset), people, or the environment. So, it is important to develop some means of analyzing these and come up with a solution. Unfortunately, it is not as straightforward as it sounds. There are plenty of plant hazard analysis (PHA) techniques and each of them has certain strengths and weaknesses. Also each specific plant and associated hazard has specific requirements to be matched so that hazard analysis will be effective. In this chapter, various hazards (in generic terms) will be examined to judge their importance, conditions, quality, etc. so that out of so many techniques available for PHA it is possible to select which one is better (not the best because that needs to be done by experts specifically for the concerned plant) suited for the type of plant. So, discussion will be more toward evaluation of PHA techniques. Some PHA is more suited for process safety management (PSM) and is sometimes more applicable for internal fault effects [e.g., hazard and operability study (HAZOP)]. In contrast, hazard identification (HAZID) is applicable for other plants, especially for the identification of external effects and maj or incidents. HAZID is also covered in this chapter. As a continuation of the same discussion, it will be better to look at various aspects of risk analysis with preliminary ideas already developed in the previous chapter. In risk analysis risk assessment, control measures for safety management systems (SMSs) will be discussed to complete the topic. 

The safety management system discussed in Chapter 4 presents the need to include all aspects of system operations in the safety process. Software use and control is no exception. A software safety program should be an integral part of the system safety program. In fact, it would be dangerous to segregate software safety from the rest of the safety process. 

This section covers two aspects of the proposed new course for SodM, the assessment of design safety cases based on risk analysis and the assessment of safety management systems. The two aspects were linked in the safety case notification requirements of SodM. Operating companies have to submit both as concepts for checking and comment by SodM. 

The premise is that the JHA should be considered the centerpiece for a safety system to operate effectively. JHA provides the critical linkage between all aspects of a safety management system. The following are examples using several ANSI/AIHA/ASSE, ZIO elements ... 

As the Figure 4.1 flowchart implies, managing chemical reactivity hazards starts with a management system. To prevent incidents, a facility must not only be well designed, but also properly operated and maintained. A commitment to safety from all levels of management is essential, to ensure that all safety aspects receive adequate priority. In practice, conflicts of interest may arise between safety and other goals such as production demands and... 

Where the culture, the system of expected behavior, demands superior safety performance, the design and engineering, management and operations, and task performance aspects of safety are well-balanced. 

Protection - National Research Institute (CIOP-PIB) for co-operation in preparing a research programme concerning the safety management of hazardous systems including functional safety aspects. 

The SQAS package for road haulage operations primarily deals with the managerial aspects of a transport company. However, a depot inspection is part of the assessment in order to verify that the management system has been effectively and consistently implemented and that the company is providing a high level of operational quality and safety. 

The safety and quality aspects of the logistics operations of a chemical company are normally addressed by its management system. Such a system is expected to identify, evaluate, and continually reduce the risks posed to humans, the environment, or property by the transport and storage of the company s chemical products. Such a process typically consists of the following sequential steps, in which the application of SQAS is described in steps 5 and 6 in this section. 

Proof test planning is an integral part of safety management planning and it is dictated by the need to maintain the functional safety of the system and should never be compromised with other aspects such as operation/production needs or business policies. As this is very much an object Oriented program, it is justifiable that suitable explanations will be made prior to its adoption. 

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