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Process safety management (PSM) is vital in ensuring safe and continued operations in major accident hazard (MAH) organisations. However, recent incidents have outlined that a holistic understanding of the many factors of PSM is required to effectively ensure, and measure, performance.

In 2010, the Energy Institute (EI) published High level framework for process safety management (PSM framework). This framework focuses on defining what good PSM should involve. Following on from this publication, the EI Guidance on meeting expectations of EI Process safety management framework series of publications provides a process to help organisations ensure they meet the expectations set out for each of the 20 elements of the PSM framework. Each element will be covered by its own publication in order to help organisations manage process safety more effectively.

EI Guidance on meeting expectations of EI Process safety management framework element 9: Process and operational status monitoring, and handover sets out good practice in establishing the necessary process and operational status monitoring to ensure that key aspects of the organisation’s operations are appropriately monitored on a day-to-day or continuous basis. It also sets out good practice for establishing appropriate handover arrangements between shift crews and work groups.

Comprehensive process and operational status monitoring and effective handover between work groups are essential to assure the continued integrity of the organisation’s operations. Management should ensure that the process and operational status monitoring, and handover requirements, are defined, understood and carried out.

It provides a process, along with guidance, to help organisations meet the expectations set out in the PSM framework, and suggests a number of compliance checks and performance measures (PMs) to determine the extent to which key activities involved in meeting these expectations have been or are being undertaken.  This is done through:

• the provision of a logical flow diagram;
• descriptions of activities ('steps') the organisation should undertake to manage this element;
• detailed guidance notes, and
• a list of further resources to help undertake key steps, and detailed annexes.

This guideline is intended for those responsible for managing and maintaining the safety management system of the organisation.  Readers implementing the guidance in this publication should be aware of the PSM framework and the other publications in this series, particularly if they are a senior manager with oversight of the wider implementation of PSM.