Page 127 - Serious Incident Prevention How to Achieve and Sustain Accident-Free Operations in Your Plant or Company

CH10pp103-110 4/10/02 12:50 PM Page 105

Establishing Performance Standards 105

Corporate/Company Standards

A hierarchy of performance standards exists. At upper management lev-
els, performance standards are typically expressed in terms of missions, vi-
sions, goals, objectives, policies, guidelines, and action plans. Input to
upper management from organizational units accountable for implementa-
tion is critical. Plans and standards developed in a vacuum tend to have a
high mortality rate when introduced into the workplace environment. Even
technically perfect standards are doomed to resistance from individuals not
having the opportunity for input in the development stage.
Corporate level standards for a company might include:

1. A mission and vision statement incorporating safety objectives
2. A corporate safety policy
3. Goals and objectives to:
Reduce the frequency of hazardous material spills and releases
by “x” percent
Experience zero incidents resulting in fatalities, major property
damage, or impact on the public
Conduct process safety management audits of each facility,
with at least “x” percent of facilities achieving an A-level audit
score
Obtain OSHA VPP STAR program status for all major facili-
ties

4. Corporate guidelines for:
Hazard communication
Hot work procedures
Emergency response
Isolation of energy sources
Employee training
Auditing of serious incident prevention processes
Management of change
Process hazards analysis
Accident reporting and investigation