The web-based Process Safety Management Software or PSM Software is one that will help companies with the Management of Change Element of PSM. The software will help in making the operational, organizational and equipment changes easy to manage and in a systematic way. This will result in improved operational performance with lower risks.
According to OSHA’s Process Safety Management or PSM regulations, the software is going to put changes through a workflow that consists of checklists, reviews, approvals and other tasks that will make sure that all of the changes are going to be properly evaluated and that no steps are going to be overlooked.
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Contents
- Key Features of PSM Software
- Elements That Should be Included in PSM Software
- 1) The organization’s employee participation
- 2) The organization’s Process Safety Information
- 3) The organization’s Process Hazard Analysis
- 4) The organization’s operating procedures
- 5) The worker’s training
- 6) The organization’s contractors
- 7) The Pre-Startup Safety Review
- 8) The mechanical integrity
- 9) The organization’s a hot work permit
- 10) The organization’s Management of Change
- Elements That Should be Included in PSM Software
Key Features of PSM Software
The following are the key features when deploying PSM software in your organization:
- The software will define the custom workflows for various change types in order to simplify the MOC creation and also to ensure consistency.
- The software will create forms and checklists such as hazard reviews, risk evaluations, and pre-startup safety reviews in order to assist you in the evaluation and implementation stages.
- The software will attach relevant documents from your company’s shared drive, SharePoint or other types of the document management systems.
- The software will make sure of the MOH progression through automatic and on-demand email notifications. It will also have special notifications for emergency changes.
- The software will effectively manage temporary changes through mandatory expiration dates and other features.
- The software will notify affected individuals or groups of changes, track sign-offs, and also escalate the overdue sign-offs.
- The software will allow frontline workers to promptly submit and track change requests.
- The software will help you to easily view and organize achieved MOC records including options for conveniently resubmitting disapproved MOCs.
- The software will help in creating and managing multiple companies, locations and departments, including fully customizable user and administrative access.
- The software will help in gaining real-time visibility into the status of the MOCs through custom, automated, and exportable reports.
Elements That Should be Included in PSM Software
In order to see to it that your company is compliant, you should always keep in mind the key elements that OSHA inspectors are always looking for when they are reviewing your PSM program.
1) The organization’s employee participation
Employee participation is one of the most important mandates. This clause requires that the organization’s employees (including production and maintenance staff) should be involved in every phase of the PSM programs at their corresponding worksites. Such employees should also be represented at the meetings whenever PSM-related issues are going to be discussed. Employee participation is also required by OSHA to be in writing, thus, it is essential that the employers be able to create formal plans.
2) The organization’s Process Safety Information
OSHA PSM dictates that the employer should be able to complete a compilation of written process safety information before starting to conduct any process hazard analysis that is required by the standard. This means that all of the organization’s workers should have access and an understanding as to the technical data that is related to the HHC risks that they face on the job.
3) The organization’s Process Hazard Analysis
The Process Hazard Analysis is one of the most technical elements of the PSM. This element requires that engineers and maintenance leaders should be able to analyze the consequences of safety failures. The Process Hazard Analysis also requires that these analyses be conducted in teams and that each team should have one person who is knowledgeable in the specific process hazard methodology being used which is an OSHA requirement.
4) The organization’s operating procedures
The OSHA inspectors will also want to see that companies are having plans in place when it comes to keeping everyone safe as they start to back up because there are a lot of potential chemical hazards that follow during turnarounds and emergency shutdowns.
5) The worker’s training
It is also essential that the workers who are carrying out processes that involve highly hazardous chemicals should be well-trained. And it is also important that their training was given by a competent source, first-party or otherwise. It is also required by OSHA that the worker’s training should be well-documented. Placing training management software can help in making it much easier in monitoring this.
6) The organization’s contractors
The organization’s regular employees and contractors alike should be well-informed as to the hazards that they face when working. Thus, it was stated in the PSM National Emphasis Program that the employer shall inform contract employers of the identified potential fire, explosion or toxic release hazards that are related to the contractor’s work and process.
7) The Pre-Startup Safety Review
It is also required that the organization should review its safety procedures every time that a worksite starts a backup. This is because OSHA is expecting employers to perform pre-startup safety reviews for both new and modified facilities. This rule is also applicable even if the procedure changes only affect a single component or process.
8) The mechanical integrity
It is also required for several systems to have periodic, documented inspections that include the following:
- Pressure vessels
- Storage tanks
- Piping systems
- Ventilation systems
It is also essential that the employers or contractors that are conducting these inspections must not only be officially trained by also that their test procedures are following recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices. Thus, the company should be able to explain why your organization’s inspectors made such decisions.
9) The organization’s a hot work permit
It is essential that every employer should have to issue permits to their employees and contractors who are welding or performing other high-temperature work that is a new covered process. The employers also need to train their personnel to post and file these permits whenever necessary.
10) The organization’s Management of Change
The company should have standard procedures for managing changes to process chemicals, technology, equipment, and procedures. Furthermore, each of these changes is going to require the following considerations:
- What the technical basis of the change is
- What the impact of the change on worker safety and health is going to be
- What the necessary modifications to operating procedures are
- What the necessary time period for the change is
- What authorization requirements to the change are needed
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