Identifying Root Causes in Auditing Or Your Foundation Is Causing All Those Little Cracks in Your Ceiling

摘要

Process safety management auditing has historically consisted of examining a facility on anelement-by-element basis by interviews, document review and inspection, comparing currentconditions to standards, and developing findings where there are discrepancies and givingrecommendations. It is also possible to look for and identify more substantive and systemic rootcauses that may be the source of multiple audit findings. Identifying and correcting these rootcauses may result in longer and deep-seated impacts to a process safety management (PSM)program.The auditing root cause approach has benefits for single sites, but has the potential for evengreater benefits if significant common root cause findings are identified between multiple sitesthat can be addressed at a group or corporate level.Often, the root cause findings are found in the realm of process safety culture. Examplesinclude:1. A culture of "compliance only". Multiple sites are focused on basic compliance withOSHA PSM regulations, for example, or SEVESO or other regulations for internationalsites. They are not going beyond compliance. The sites would benefit from setting theirgoals to exceed, rather than just meet, the regulatory requirements and to focus on a PSMmanagement system that is commensurate with the risks.2. An "inwardly focused" or "parochial" culture exists. When sites develop their PSMprograms internally, without benefitting from the expertise at other sites or within theindustry. PSM audits are conducted largely by site personnel, PHAs are led by site.