Process Safety Management System

Breaking Out of the Comfort Zone in Process Safety Management Systems: "Change Management" 1. Introduction The new world order that has become a global village and rapidly evolving/changing living conditions have brought new needs in their wake. Particularly in the last century, when industrialisation has been very rapid, many new chemicals, new products and new processes have come into operation, and these new developments have also brought new hazards and risks for workers and workplaces. All these developments have made the need for change essential. Viewed in general terms, the concept of Change Management first emerged in the early 1990s and has continued to develop to the present day, with the changes in question seriously encompassing working conditions. Change management refers to the management of all improvement processes that can be applied at individual and institutional level in order to enable an enterprise to reach its strategic objectives. These changes are objectives for improving the organisation such as reducing costs, improving revenues, solving problems, taking advantage of opportunities, organising business and strategy, or facilitating information flow within the institution. 2. Safety Management System and Change Management The purpose of change in process safety is to ensure that changes affecting the Safety Management System (SMS) – organisational changes, production conditions and process changes, changes in the storage capacity and methods of hazardous substances, equipment changes and changes in safety-related documentation, as well as changes in elements dependent on environmental conditions – are implemented in a planned manner. When applied, the change management process is a system in its own right within the Safety Management System, and as long as the system is properly operated, the effectiveness of change management begins to be visible. However, as in all systems, resistance to change management appears seriously at both institutional and individual level. When good leadership and management are in place, these changes can be managed and work related to these changes can improve the whole organisation in a positive way. 3. Implementation Change is a deviation from an established baseline that exists or a substitution for or a change that can be substituted. This change includes changes applied to personnel, work processes, systems, facilities and equipment, technology, documentation, risks, regulations, commitments, obligations and other conditions within processes, and changes applied to environmental, physical and social external factors that are affected by or affect the organisation. In managing changes, it is necessary to establish a structure within the system that will cover all routine, non-routine critical, temporary, permanent and emergency changes that may occur. In the next step, there must be a system established in the organisation to cover the following elements: the requesting of such changes, the decision to make the change, the coordination between all units affected by the requested change within the structure, the documentation of coordination and work performed, the application and monitoring of all types of changes, the provision of standardisation to minimise errors that may arise from change, and most importantly, ensuring that the system operates effectively. Now, let us take a look at the contents of these possible changes below: 3.1 Routine Changes Routine changes are change processes that arise within the facility from many causes both internal and external, can trigger major industrial accidents, and therefore must be carried out continuously under control within the scope of the Safety Management System; these are change processes that are easier to manage compared to critical changes. For example, equipment and material changes made one-to-one for maintenance or renewal purposes can be considered routine changes. However, when evaluating the relevant process in routine changes, whether the change process assessed as routine is critical and whether it falls within temporary, permanent or emergency change processes must certainly be evaluated. 3.2. Critical Changes Critical changes can be defined as changes that affect or are likely to affect the organisation and the system. First of all, the organisation must identify which changes are critical for itself, bring them to the agenda and decide for itself what is and is not critical. All possible process change requirements arising from internal and external causes within the organisation may arise from corrective actions, internal or external audits, personnel requests, objectives, risk action determination process, employee feedback, periodic meetings, mandatory changes in regulations, Management Review meeting decisions, etc. Once critical changes have been identified, the change steps and risks mentioned above must be reviewed during the change. 3.3 Contents of Changes The content of critical changes must require the management and control of all elements that may affect the organisation, including the following. These elements are briefly: * Organisational changes and personnel changes • Change of critical personnel in the process safety department • Resignation • New recruitment • Updates to the organisational chart * Process changes; changes in process conditions or process control systems, capacity changes, changes in equipment or process parameters • Routine and critical changes to be made in processes containing and/or processing chemicals reported to BEKRA • Change or addition of a new chemical in the chemical/chemicals used • Change in the technology of the process/production • Change or addition of any equipment in the process • Modifications to equipment materials • Modifications to electrical equipment • Relocation of equipment/equipment • Change in flow, temperature, pressure or composition of a process outside the defined operating parameters * Changes in the storage capacity and methods of hazardous substances • Change in the quantities of reported chemicals • Addition of a chemical previously not used at the facility but considered a hazardous chemical to the facility process * Equipment Changes • Change of equipment/instruments used in areas designated as facilities that may cause major industrial accidents • Change outside defined limits or setpoints in process equipment (such as alarms and emergency discharge equipment) • Equipment changes relating to portable equipment or transport equipment for the transport of toxic, corrosive or flammable substances or equipment relating to the storage of any substance • Any change in the frequency of scheduled inspections of safety-related systems (for example, isolation systems and critical alarms) * Changes in safety-related documentation and changes dependent on environmental conditions • Changes made to any document and documentation required to be prepared under BEKRA regulations • Changes/revisions in legal regulations, previously non-existing, subsequently changed environmental conditions (new facilities, natural events, etc.) • Any change affecting the notification of a facility in accordance with local regulations (emissions/environment/community/operating licence) The changes that must be managed within the scope of the Safety Management System are given above. In addition to these, other items for which change management is likely to be applied on a facility basis are as follows: • Raw material change: Changes in raw materials that may directly or indirectly affect critical processes • Supplier change: Changes in processes supplied by the supplier and that may directly or indirectly affect critical processes • Subcontractor change: Change of subcontractors working in critical processes or in positions that may affect critical processes • Technology change: Change in technologies related to equipment used in critical processes • Legal requirement change: Any change requiring the updating of documentation related to critical processes and the inspection of its applicability at the facility • Location change: Change/relocation of any equipment, facility or all of them in the organisation • Any other change outside all these items and considered to require change management 3.4. Hazards That May Arise Due to Changes With regard to hazards that may arise from routine, temporary, permanent or emergency changes due to facility, process, hazardous chemical, environmental or human resource causes in the organisation, risk assessment studies must be conducted prior to the initiation of the change in order to effectively manage the transformation of hazards into risks in terms of major industrial accidents. The evaluation process should be carried out to include compliance with laws and regulations as well as the status of legal notifications to official bodies. 3.5. Recording of Changes and Updating of Related Documents The organisation must carry out the documentation of the evaluation and approval process performed in the first stage of the change and the preparation, definition, updating and publication of all documents used in routine, temporary, permanent and emergency changes implemented through the organisation's documentation system. Thus, all changes made in the organisation should be recorded and retained as evidence within the organisation. 3.6. Employee Information In the event of routine, temporary, permanent or emergency changes in the organisation, all employees, subcontractors and subcontractor employees likely to be affected by the change must be informed. This information process can be provided through communication methods appropriate to the organisation (communication/notice boards, email, telephone or message). Conclusion One of the most important rules of the global world is that "the only thing that does not change is change itself." The need for change may come before us as a risk, an opportunity or a problem to be solved. New tools or processes are not sufficient to achieve successful change management. Change is also an individual event; in this context, the human factor should be taken into account and included in the change in order for change to be managed correctly. When the change management process is managed to include individuals, it is inevitable that organisations will successfully adapt to change, and this enables organisations to progress, grow and become safer workplaces. For individuals and companies that cannot adapt to change will not find the opportunity to sustain their existence in today's harsh business competition and will always watch those who move forward. As a final word, change management leaders certainly play the leading role and the stance they take in this area determines the fate of the organisation.   Dr. Hacer Kayhan, Associate Professor General Director, Kayhan Academy Faculty Member, Üsküdar University