A Pre-Plan for Process Safety Management

This paper will present the steps a small pharmaceutical research and development company is taking to prepare for Process Safety Management (PSM). Although not under PSM at the present time, the corporate growth plan is such that PSM will be a requirement within the next 2 to 5 years. When looking at the safety management systems in use by many major companies, safety personnel at small companies can become overwhelmed by the daunting task before them. Preparation is key for a small company that must use available resources efficiently in order to accomplish day to day activities. The company in this example has 70 to 75 full time employees.

The planning process for each element of PSM will include one or more of the following steps.

1. Have the right people in positions for success.
2. Know what is required and what is not needed.
3. Build on what you already have in place.
4. Exploit available resources.
5. Break it down into manageable components.
6. Stick with the plan.

Each element of PSM will be reviewed as to how the above mentioned steps will be utilized to achieve successful implementation of the element.