Senior manager

Does the Quality Assurance Coordinator have clearly defined authority and responsibility and does he report directly to a senior manager ... 

The coordinator should have authorities and responsibilities that are defined and documented, for example, in the job description. He or she should report directly to a senior manager in quality matters even if reporting to a lower level on other duties. 

Industry is far from understanding the true capabiiity of their designs. Some comments from senior managers and engineers in the industry give an indication of the cuiturai probiems faced and the education needed to improve design processes in this respect. 

Labovitz, G. H. 1988 Tough Questions Senior Managers Should he A.sking about Quality, The ODI Quality Management Series, Vol. 1. 

Name and official title of owr>er/operator or senior management official... 

This book is well written, logically developed, and easy to read. I hope it will be widely read, not just by designers, but by everyone involved with the design of new plants, including chemists who choose the reactions to be used. Above all, 1 hope it will be read by senior managers, as they are in a position to influence the policy and culture of the company and are inclined to ask why we carry out so many studies on new projects instead of getting on with the detailed design. This book will teU them why. I can think of no better Christmas present for your company president. 

Given that multiple contractor and subcontractor organizations could be involved in work activities, senior management should address any misunderstandings concerning specific operational responsibilities and accountabilities that could cause problems in the administration of site-specific programs. 

Organizational and plant design policies, directed by senior management plant and corporate management, and implemented by line management affect conditions that influence error. 

On resources The manpower, material, facilities, and plant needed to execute a particular contract shall be established, documented, and agreed with senior management prior to submission of any tender, bid, or offer. The estimate shall include the resources to manage and carry out the work required and in addition the resources required to verify that work has been completed in accordance with the contractual requirements. ... 

In 1968, after 16 of years experience in production, 1 was transferred to a new position in safety. It was an unusual move at the time for someone with my background, but five deaths from three serious fires in three years, two of them the results of poor preparation for maintenance, convinced the senior management that more resources should be devoted to safety and that it could no longer be left to nontechnical people and elderly foremen. Since then I have read scores of reports about other accidents that happened because of this cause. Some were serious others were near-misses. 

In all three examples, the senior managers of the companies involved were committed to safety, but the staff lacked the necessai y knowledge and experience. It was not necessary for the whole team to have been aware of the hazard. One member s awareness would have been enough, so long as the other team members were willing to listen. It was not necessary for him or her to be fully conversant with the details of the hazard, so long as concerns were followed up. 

Senior manager in charge of site containing many units Plant manager Works manager... 

MCP s success relies on the continuing support and commitment of the company s senior management. It is vital that such support be enlisted at the earliest stages of PSM design. The PSM implementation effort requires resources given the inevitable competition for limited resources within any organization, senior management support is a key success factor. 

In companies in which senior management has strong operating experience, the concepts behind PSM are more likely to be self-evident. Similarly, some senior managers may have an ongoing interest in process safety and be knowledgeable about CCPS initiative. In these cases you can limit your preliminary discussion of PSM principles to a brief summary. 

In other companies, senior managements knowledge of operations and process safety may be limited, meaning that your first t2isk is to provide basic information. In either case, its obviously important to assess—in advance— the information needs of the people whose endorsement you seek. Otherwise,... 

This example presumes a 90-minute meeting with senior managers, some of whom have relatively little exposure to process safety management. 

What is needed from senior management today (5 minutes)... 

All right, says senior management, you ve convinced us that PSM is a good idea, and we like your ideas. Now, what do you want from us Alternatively All right, says senior management, we re sold go do it. What do you need us for ... 

Senior management s role supports but does not duplicate the efforts of the PSM champion. The boss should understand that you do not expect anyone to do your job for you. At the same time, senior management should recognize that there are some activities—such as allocating resources, or representing the company in a high-level business forum—that you cannot appropriately undertake. 

Senior managers generally respond better to specific requests than to broad expressions of need. "First we need a mission statement" is likely to draw a quizzical expression and limited assistance. "The task group has developed this mission statement for your review and signature we plan to distribute it to all plant locations to kick off the effort" tells the boss exactly what you need and why you need it, and establishes that you expect to carry the ball. 

Top-level support is often most valuable when it is highly visible. Perhaps the most useful role senior management can take on behalf of PSM is to endorse it explicitly—both inside the company and externally. Senior managers active participation in communications about PSM lends cred -ibility and generates awareness of PSM as a company priority in ways that not even the most dedicated staff team can achieve. 

Senior management may appear to have a short attention span. It is important to stress that PSM implementation is a long-term process, and therefore the commitment requested involves long-term participation. In other words, a simple "yes, go do it" is unlikely to be sufficient it is up to you to clarify your expectations for senior executives involvement over time. 

Try framing your expectations of senior management in terms of a job description. This may help you focus your own thinking and provide the basis for this section of your proposal. 

Make sure your expectations for senior management and others are consistent with your company s operating style. For example, a CEO who is accustomed to delegating most decisions is unlikely to accept a role that seems to take away divisional authority, while a facility manager with little functional autonomy will probably be leery of taking a highly visible role without approval from a superior. 

Goals set for PSM at the senior management level will tend to be very broad, as distinct from the far more specific objectives a PSM champion will establish as part of the planning process. These broad goals help define the company s position with regard to a PSM initiative and provide a focus for achieving consensus. 

The same information could be provided in a letter to all employees, posted on local bulletin boards or mailed to employees homes. On a grander scale, senior management may address employees through a specially produced videotape, distributed to all locations. 

APPENDIX 2-1 SAMPLE DOCUMENT PRESENTING PSM TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT 39... 

Once your compands senior management is on board, your next priority is to define specific goals for the PSM initiative. This helps you determine what your finished product (i.e., the new PSM system) will look like and how it will work within your company. 

Just as you presented a preliminary plan at the outset of the PSM initiative, you may want to think in terms of a formal presentation to your company s management when the detailed plan is complete. Remember that senior management s buy-in will be essential to successful implementation so will the endorsement of line managers at the operating level, who will be directly affected by your plan. 

Either way, both senior management and line persoimel should have the opportunity to review the PSM plan and discuss it with the team. As a general rule, the more input and commentary you can incorporate into the finished product, the better its chances of approval—and of successful implementation—since it will reflect the interests of the people affected by it. 

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