Assessing Operational Excellence

Abstract

The discipline of process safety management is mature. For example, the OSHA (the United States Occupational Safety & Health Administration) standard was promulgated in May 1992; the standard is older than people who are now entering the energy and process industries. The elements of process safety management are just one aspect of an effective, overall safety program. Other elements include formal education and practical experience. When combined they create what can be referred to as process safety wisdom as shown in Figure 1. They also move the program beyond just safety into overall Operational Excellence in which issues such as production, productivity and efficiency are considered. Of the three elements shown in Figure 1 the one that is most difficult to systematize is practical experience — the knowledge and insights built up by people who have worked in industry for many years. In order to gather and assess such experience an Operational Excellence Assessment system has been developed. It is buit up of hundreds of questions to which there is no “right answer” — merely an expert response. This response is supported by the guidance and suggestions that an expert might provide.