Setting Goals for PSM

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 relationship between broad goals and specific objectives is comparable to the difference between policy and procedures. Goals help establish what your company expects to achieve, while objectives delineate how those goals will be met. 

Make sure your company s short-term objectives (e.g., updating aii P IDs) are consistent with broader PSM goais (e.g., accurate process safety information), sind communicate them in ways that clearly encourage work habits and procedures that support PSM performance. For exampie, your employees need to understand that the company will achieve its goal of reducing reportable incidents by changing its PSM procedures, not its reporting processes. 

Many companies Bnd it useful to express corporate goals as vision statements, which articulate top management s operating philosophy concerning a given 

Once you have agreed on broad goals for PSM, consider enlisting someone from your company s corporate communications or public relations staff to help you draft a formal vision statement. This will help you (1) assure a well-written document and (2) win communicators support by involving them. 

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