Do the words “Process Safety Management” make you shudder? Does just hearing “P” “S” “M” make you groan and your legs shake?
You are not alone. “PSM” should not be confused with “PMS.” I’ve seen “PMS-Like symptoms in men while working on PSM projects - irritability, redness in the face, you get the picture. But it doesn’t have to be that bad. Yes, PSM is a big program. It can be overwhelming especially when trying to get all your regular daily work done, or when co-workers go on vacation, and it feels like the tasks just keep piling up. |
No one person should try to do it alone, nor should one person have all of the responsibility for the entire program.
I love this statement I read in a recent AIChE, Process Safety Progress magazine where the author said that “Process safety is a team sport.” As a matter of fact, the whole program is designed to engage everyone in the facility.
The first requirement or “element” in the OSHA regulation (29 CFR 1910.119(c)) is Employee Participation, which requires the facility to create and implement a written plan of action that describes how employees are engaged in sharing information, understanding and managing highly hazardous chemicals at the plant.
You cannot do this alone.
Like the captain of a sports team, it is sometimes customary that one person leads the group through the PSM program development phase and then often times has the responsibility for generally overseeing the program.
Granted, PSM is a big program, but once you get your arms around it, once you’ve broken down the whole program into its pieces and parts, and understand how each of the elements are woven in and are interrelated with each other, and you have the various pieces and parts assigned to qualified staff, ….. it’s not so bad.
Getting started is the hardest part. Get help, ask questions, look for guidance. Work together. Remember – There is no “I” in “T – E – A – M.
I love this statement I read in a recent AIChE, Process Safety Progress magazine where the author said that “Process safety is a team sport.” As a matter of fact, the whole program is designed to engage everyone in the facility.
The first requirement or “element” in the OSHA regulation (29 CFR 1910.119(c)) is Employee Participation, which requires the facility to create and implement a written plan of action that describes how employees are engaged in sharing information, understanding and managing highly hazardous chemicals at the plant.
You cannot do this alone.
Like the captain of a sports team, it is sometimes customary that one person leads the group through the PSM program development phase and then often times has the responsibility for generally overseeing the program.
Granted, PSM is a big program, but once you get your arms around it, once you’ve broken down the whole program into its pieces and parts, and understand how each of the elements are woven in and are interrelated with each other, and you have the various pieces and parts assigned to qualified staff, ….. it’s not so bad.
Getting started is the hardest part. Get help, ask questions, look for guidance. Work together. Remember – There is no “I” in “T – E – A – M.
Definition of Teamwork - to not work alone, but rather, to work together in order to achieve a goal.