Evaluating safety in the management of maintenance activities in the chemical process industry

Abstract

A study was carried out of the management of safety in maintenance activities in the chemical process industry in the Netherlands. A theoretical model of an ideal maintenance management system incorporating safety was established and tested by peer review in five companies in different industries with high safety risks and requirements and good reputations for maintenance management. The model was used to carry out a secondary analysis of available data on maintenance accidents. An audit checklist was derived from the model and used to carry out in-depth assessment of the management systems of eight companies with major hazard plants. Finally, the model and audit were used to construct a questionnaire, which was sent to 82 major hazard companies, yielding a response of 47 usable replies. The data from these sources is analysed to indicate how and where the maintenance management systems in this industry can be improved. The main shortcomings are found in the support given to middle levels of management in translating safety policy into an effective maintenance concept and that into planning, procedures and resource management which give appropriate attention to safety. Recommendations are made about strengthening these areas with a strong maintenance engineering function responsible for coordinating the incorporation of safety into design, into the maintenance concept and planning and for the learning of lessons from incident and breakdown analysis, a function which can also contribute positively to an economic operation of the facility. Some general recommendations are made about the regulatory implications of these conclusions.