Select a Team

You may wanf to revisit Section 3.3, beginning on page 50, which discusses 

As the previous discussion suggests, interdisciplinary teamwork often benefits the design of PSM systems, both by spreading out the work involved and by drawing on multiple perspectives. In addition, the team approach can expedite buy-in from PSM end users, if only because it s harder to resist the findings of a team than the conclusions of a single individual, however well-respected he or she may be. If you are not in a position to mobilize a formal company team to focus on PSM system design, you should at least consider 

If you decide to adopt a team approach, the following discussion may be useful in guiding your efforts. 

The teams selected to design PSM systems should reflect the approach you have chosen. However, regardless of the approach you use, keep in mind some general characteristics of effective process design teams, which include  

Clearcut Mission. As with other team structures discussed in this volume, the design team needs a clearly articulated understanding of its mission, responsibilities, and limits. 

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Once management has made a commitment to the program and goals have been set, a program task force is established. The selection of a team leader will be dependent upon many factors including their ability to effec tively interface with both the assessment team and management staff. 

All types of PHAs benefit from a multidisciplinary approach. This ensures appropriate technical expertise is available to evaluate each deviation discussed during the sessions. While it is not essential that all team members have had formal training in the PHA method selected, it is important that the team leader has experience. The participation techniques can be learned when a new participant is included as a part of a team in which some members have already gained PHA experience. 

Two members selected from the team act in supportive roles during the PHA. These roles are the leader and the scribe. A team leader is always needed for a PHA and should double as the scribe only for extremely simple hazard evaluations. For more complex analyses or the HAZOP study method, a separate person should always be assigned to scribe. 

To be successful, a team selected from different groups within the project team should participate in the preparation and review of these plans. In addition, a schedule of the review and approval process for these plans needs to be established, accepted by all reviewers, and distributed before release of the first draft. Reviewers should meet an established schedule for review and submission of comments. A distinction between review and approval authority should be determined. The review process determines if all of the required elements are identified. This review can take considerable time, depending on the complexity of the project. The approval process is important when all comments are incorporated. The key responsible persons associated with the project should accept and approve the changes to the document. 

Employers must develop in-house capability to investigate incidents that occur in their facilities. A team should be assembled by the employer and trained in the techniques of investigation, including how to conduct interviews of witnesses, assemble needed documentation, and write reports. A multidisciplinary team is better able to gather the facts of the event and to analyze them and develop plausible scenarios as to what happened and why. Team members should be selected on the basis of their training, knowledge, and ability to contribute to a team effort to fully investigate the incident. 

Team responsibilities Define PSM criteria and goals for Company X evaluate current PSM status develop a plan to build on what s in place and address gaps develop specific PSM systems select a test site and install a pilot system measure and monitor its progress refine systems as needed. [Limits]... 

This ranking exercise can be assigned to one or two team members as a subtask. Consider selecting a teammate with experience in facility operations to compile the necessary data and one with process safety and computer experience to run the models. The resulting report can then be shared with the full team and included in the plan you submit to your management. 

If you selected TQM techniques to address this gap, you would first assemble a TQM project team. (See Section 6.2 for more discussion of forming and managing teams.) Such a team would include representatives of the functional group that "owns" the process (that is, the people responsible for its operation), as well as of other groups who are the process s customers and suppliers, for example ... 

With the approach selected and the design team(s) designated, you can now begin to develop the PSM systems you have planned. A good place to start is with a team briefing that covers ... 

A Initially a team of five or six will develop a detailed proposal. We will then select a division for a pilot study. The pilot will have a team of about 12 people, half of whom will be full-time. As the integration is rolled out in other divisions, I expect a slightly lower level of effort, as we will have learned from our earlier experiences. We will also use an outside consultant to help us develop our plans and review implementation. 

When selecting die members of a team diat will bear overall responsibility for emergency plamiing, the following considerations are important. 

Temporal and Spatial Resolution. Once the issue of nomenclature is resolved, the team must select a baseline temporal and spatial resolution. Scientists studying plate deformations and the behavior of internal earth processes use time scales of millions and billions of years. Scientists studying the dynamics at the surface of the earth are concerned with solar driven processes and use time scales ranging from days to centuries. These researchers may assume that internal earth processes are static for purposes of their studies. If the temporal baseline selected is days, then those researchers interested in phenomena that require years or centuries will withdraw from the team. 

What Dr. Libby at this time properly perceived as missing was exposure to the real world of problem-solving hence the need for a clinical kind of preparation. Thus the concept he proposed was to create the "Environmental Doctor" — the competent generalist, reasonably skilled in all aspects of the environment and expert in some, with the perception and judgement to select those few critical parts of a problem essential to its solution, and the management skills to assemble a team to perform the actual solution effort. 

The selection process was initiated by a local announcement that a team from Edgewood Arsenal was coming to describe their research program. Higher authorities ordered commanders to set aside suffrcient time at the Post auditorium for would-be volunteers to complete applications, but only if they wished. From 500-1,000 curious soldiers usually showed up. An Edgewood physician would be there to tell the story of our program and show a movie of the facility and testing procedures. After that, those who were interested completed the required forms. 

The composition and mandate of a team will vary depending on the specific incident. Within a large organization or a company with several very different processes, it may not be practical or desirable to preselect one team to investigate all incidents. Personnel should be selected to participate in investigations based on tbeir specific skills, experience, availability, and tbe team roles tbat need to be filled for a particular investigation. Over time, tbis approach will produce a pool of trained and experienced employees familiar with the investigation process. 

The fact/hypothesis matrix is another valuable tool available to the incident investigation team. This tool is used to compare the known facts against the various hypothetical scenarios. The matrix can help clarify thinking. It makes it easier to determine the most likely scenario and to refute other proposed scenarios based on the available facts. Using a matrix can help the team avoid jumping to conclusions and selecting a... 

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