The future of catastrophic event prevention: Seven questions leaders need to ask

Abstract

Despite a high level of development, process safety systems are ultimately limited by the organizational cultures that use them. Advancing the effectiveness of catastrophic event prevention will necessarily require changes at the organizational level. Specifically, process safety systems, like personal safety systems before them, must become an integrated part of a whole organizational safety picture, rather than an isolated function of a specialized few. This article poses seven questions that challenge leaders to rethink common assumptions and begin the work of aligning process safety practices with a culture that supports them. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2011