Process Safety Culture

On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven crewmembers aboard. After extensive investigation, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) concluded that the organizational safety culture gaps contributed significantly to this loss. Upon review of The CAIB report, the CCPS Technical Steering Committee concluded that the same cultural factors that impacted NASA could also impact on the chemical and petroleumn industries. CCPS invites chemical, petroleum, and other companies to use these materials to evaluate their company's process safety culture and to develop improvement strategies.

Developing, sustaining, and enhancing the organization's process safety culture is one of elements in the RBPS pillar of committing to process safety. CCPS members invite you to start the journey by reviewing the Building Process Safety Culture Tool Kit and then explore resources listed below to understand the attributes of a sound culture, and how your organization might begin to enhance its own culture.

Proven in Use (What's the Quality of Your Data)

Apr 4, 2012
Harold W. Thomas
To perform LOPA's, fault tree analysis, SIL verifications and other quantitative likelihood analyses requires data. As much as everyone wants data, it always seems to be elusive or lacking in quality. This paper explores various issues that the authors have experienced when dealing with end user...

Fatal Exposure: Tragedy At DuPont

Apr 4, 2012
Marc G. Sáenz
This investigation by the United States Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) provides unique lessons in process safety. Three incidents occurred over a 33-hour period at the DuPont plant in Belle, WV. The most serious incident occurred on January 23, 2010, when a release of highly...

Go out and lead on Process Safety Management

Apr 3, 2012
David Snowball
This paper will share the UK's experience of risk control for major hazards and will emphasise the key role corporate governance and leadership plays in the management of major hazard risks. The paper will outline the joint work undertaken between industry and the Health and Safety Executive in...

Operational Group for Process Safety

Apr 3, 2012
Maria Clara Saraiva
With the increase in requirements for monitoring and improving process safety indicators on a thermoelectric unit linked to a Braskem Basic Petrochemical Site in Brazil, a large range of knowledge among engineers and operators were found. The theme Process Safety was commonly confused with...

Selection of Appropriate Ignition Models for Fire and Explosion Assessments

Apr 3, 2012
Anna Qiao
A release of flammable substances can result in various fire or explosion events depending on whether there is an immediate or delayed ignition. Although developments have taken place in producing fit-for-purpose ignition models, there remain significant uncertainties, including how to identify the...

Taking a Risk for Safety

Apr 3, 2012
Ian Sutton
Taking a Risk for Safety Over the last twenty years companies in the process industries have invested heavily in their occupational safety programs. These investments of time and money have been made in many areas, including training, behavior-based safety and the use of PPE. The results have been...

Fire From Iron

Apr 3, 2012
Marc G. Sáenz
Although the potential consequences of combustible dust explosions are becoming more widely known, the potential consequences of combustible dust fires are sometimes overlooked. The CSB investigated three incidents involving combustible iron dust at Hoeganaes Corporation. Two people died from burns...

ìBridging SEMS Between the Owner, Operator, and Contractorî

Apr 3, 2012
Ester Brawley
As of November 2011, offshore platforms have been required to develop and implement a Safety and Environmental Management (SEMS) Program. The offshore industry has many unique challenges that their onshore counterparts have not had to face. One of the biggest challenges facing the offshore industry...

Gains From Getting near Misses Reported

Apr 3, 2012
Bill Bridges
[An earlier edition of this paper was first presented at the “International Conference and Workshop – Process Safety Incidents,” 2000, organized by the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS)] The need for effective root cause analysis is finally gaining the spotlight in the chemical process...

Continuing Our Process Safety Management (PSM) Journey: How Time and Technology Have Helped Change the Public's View (A Case Study for Where We Are Today and Where We Can Go Tomorrow)

Apr 3, 2012
Bruce K. Vaughen
This paper briefly explores the history of basic PSM principles, first describing a historical view of how PSM developed into today's PSM Elements. Then this paper covers a proposed direction for PSM's future that may help address the changing nature of the public's view of the chemical industry –...

Challenges in Applying PSM to Production Pilot Plants & Laboratories

Apr 3, 2012
Bruce D. Bullough
The CordenPharma Colorado, Inc. (CPC) site in Boulder includes at least eight production facilities. The majority (six) are production laboratories and pilot plants, with synthesizers and vessels of a few liters to a few thousand liters. All of the production process systems are connected to at...

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