Audits and reviews

Requirement

Economic operators must have a documented audit programme, on the basis of which the entire process safety system is audited at regular intervals.

Approved procedure

The audit programme covers all areas/elements of the process safety system. At larger plants, the areas are audited separately to ensure a sufficient quality level.

Audits are scheduled based on risks taking into account the consequences of accidents, the number of non-conformities and accidents, the results of previous audits and the number of similar external audits.

Audits can also be held ad hoc after an accident or observations that raise concerns.

Requirement

A documented procedure must be in place to audit each area of the process safety system.

Approved procedure

Audit procedures include checklists, questionnaires, interviews and the review of various related documents/results.

Requirement

Each audited non-conformity and the resulting measures required or recommendations must be monitored in a documented manner.

Approved procedure

A monitoring system has been established for audited non-conformities and other findings, in which non-conformities can be registered and the implementation of measures can be monitored. Responsible persons, targeted schedules and corrective measures are defined for non-conformities.

Requirement

Auditors and their competence requirements must be defined to audit the process safety system.

Approved procedure

If required, independence and any specific competence requirements (e.g. technical or system competence) must be defined, depending on the area to be audited.

Requirement

The company’s managers must review the effectiveness of the process safety management system regularly in accordance with a documented procedure.

Participants in the review must be defined.

Approved procedure

A review of the process safety system is included in the management review. The management review is conducted by managers who hold decision-making powers. 

The management review of the process safety system is conducted at the company’s highest levels of management, extending all the way to its Board of Directors. Reviews can be conducted with a different content at different organisational levels. Participants can be defined based on the participating managers or the areas of the process safety system to be reviewed. At least one manager has competence in or understanding of the process safety system. Managers are aware of the most significant accident risks and can discuss the risk’s underlying factors.

The review schedule depends on the plant’s lifecycle phase, the maturity of the process safety system, the plant’s history (accidents, etc.) and assessment/audit results.

Requirement

The management review must cover the effectiveness and appropriateness of the process safety system.

Approved procedure

Management reviews focus on the achievement of the process safety goals and programmes set and assess the effectiveness of the organisation and the sufficiency of other resources relative to the goals. Results, risks and development programmes are presented understandably (different reports may be required at different organisational levels).

During the review, documents or other material related to the process safety system or its area and observations of the effectiveness of the system/area are presented to managers. The status of any development programme defined can be presented during the review. The review seeks to answer the following questions: Are these the results we want to see? Is our work focused correctly? What could we improve?