Process Safety Information Management - It Is More Than You Probably Think

Many businesses continue to struggle with managing the expectations of the Process Safety Management standard--even twenty years after the rule was first promulgated. In particular, the sheer enormity of Process Safety Information (PSI) continues to overwhelm many organizations. PSI is a foundational element of PSM upon which other elements such as Process Hazards Analysis are directly dependent. Relationships to the other elements may be less obvious, but PSI is ultimately the foundation upon which all risk-based decisions are based. PSI has to be based on the accuracy of core documents; tools must be created to identify and correct any discrepancies among the various systems that generate, store, and use PSI; and the same tools can be used to drive alignment outward into the other elements. By relying on these fundamentals, this paper details a system that can be put in place by management to improve a site's process safety culture through facilitating a better understanding of PSI and the inherent connections to other elements of the PSM standard.