Managing a Risk Program

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This ebook  to do with risk management in the process and energy industries describes how a risk program in the process industries can be managed so as to maximize safety and efficiency while keeping costs under control. It describes how to determine the program's objectives, create the organization, develop metrics and a baseline and then implement the plan. The chapter concludes with a discussion to do with auditing and continuous improvement.

Clients and Customers

Everyone who manages a risk program has customers or clients. Even those working in large corporations or government departments supply services and products to others, with their customers being other departments and managers within the organization. With regard to process risk and reliability programs, potential clients and customers include the following.

Senior Management

Senior managers are concerned primarily with long-term issues. With respect to risk they are particularly sensitive to the potential for major environmental and safety events such as the Exxon Valdez spill, the refinery explosion at Texas City or the Deepwater Horizon/Macondo catastrophe. Such events lead to loss of life, major environmental problems, huge economic losses, very bad public relations, civil litigation and even criminal prosecution. Senior managers do not want to be in that place — they look to the risk management program to keep them from going there.

Facility Managers

In operating facilities the immediate client for a risk and reliability program will be the facility or plant manager, supported by his or her operations, maintenance and technical managers. Generally, they are less focused on big picture events than their bosses, but they do want to avoid and recordable injuries and environmental citations. They are also interested in boosting profits through the use of operability and reliability programs. Moreover, they understand that a smoothly-running facility will make them look good in the eyes of their superiors.

Project Managers and Design Engineers

If a facility is still in the design or construction stage the immediate clients for the risk management program will be the project managers and design engineers on both the client and the contractor side. These clients have two principal interests with regard to risk. First they need to ensure safety on the project itself, particularly during the fabrication and construction phases. Second, they want to be sure that the facility that will operate safely and that it will meet its environmental and operating goals once it has been turned over to operations.

Regulators / Auditors

Modern industrial facilities are required to meet a plethora of regulations, rules, codes and standards. Therefore the risk management program should be organized so that its findings and results can be readily evaluated and audited by outsiders, particularly government regulators.

Table of Contents

Introduction 
Clients / Customers 
   Senior Management
   Facility Managers 
   Project Managers and Design Engineers 
   Regulators / Auditors 
Program Organization
   Step 1 — Determine the Objectives
   Step 2 — Set Up an Organization 
      Management 
      Steering Committee 
      Coordinator 
      Sub-Committees 
      Operating Binders 
Step 3 — Create the Metrics and Baseline 
Step 4 — Develop a Plan 
   Goals 
   Resources Needed 
   Develop a Schedule 
   Reviews and Signatures 
Step 5 — Implement the Plan 
Step 6 — Audit / Improve 
Risk Management on Projects 
   Phase I — Concept Selection 
   Phase II — Preliminary Engineering 
      Philosophies 
      Hazards Analysis 
   Phase III — Detailed Engineering 
   Phase IV — Fabrication and Construction 
   Phase V — Commissioning and Start-Up