Dashpivot Article – Pre-Startup Safety Review Procedure

Pre-Startup Safety Review procedure

Pre-Startup Safety Review Procedure

A pre-startup safety review commonly abbreviated in the acronym PSSR is one of the important parts of any process safety management programme, and it is the last step to fully establish safety and efficacy before proceeding with starting an activity or machine. Knowing your pre-startup safety review procedure, and your team knowing the procedure, is a critical part of asset related safety.

This procedure is often rushed, and the items inside a PSSR are overlooked due to limited time and management pressure. This has forever been going on with companies having a lot of assets.

In the end, a good PSSR really begins the good change process to guarantee a seamless pre-startup safety review procedure and help raise awareness of the scope. In general, PSSRs are designed to prevent workplace accidents and consequent equipment damage or employee injury; however, badly executed PSSRs can lead to catastrophic disasters or even death.

The Essentials of a Good Pre-Startup Safety Review Procedure

The PSSR is a valuable phase when it comes to the safety of newly made procedures, a new machine to be installed, a change in product use, or recently renovated facilities. It is necessary to make sure everything is ready for safe operation before using dangerous chemicals or starting complicated industrial procedures. To make sure there is compliance with operational standards and to help seek out possible dangers, a detailed, thorough PSSR is necessary.

Procedures for Your Pre-Startup Safety Review

Appropriate Preparation for Documentation

It would be very beneficial to gather all of the relevant project documents in order to outline the stage for a comprehensive review. This would ensure that everything is in order for the subsequent phases that will follow. Documents such as these serve as a foundation upon which a strategy can be constructed. Manuals, instructions for maintenance and operations, safety checklists, instructions for the handling of hazardous materials, emergency protocols, and everything else that involves and is related to regulatory requirements are examples of the types of papers that are required to be prepared by an organisation or corporation. All the things that will be carried out in accordance with the plan are based on these documents. In the event that these documents are subjected to the essential checks, the review will be able to proceed more smoothly.

Design and Construction Review

During the pre-startup safety review, it is important to conduct a design and construction assessment. This evaluation ensures that the functionality of a piece of machinery or equipment, the techniques of a procedure, and the contents of the product are all in accordance with what was anticipated. The purpose of this evaluation is to ensure that the design and specifications are accurate, as this will also determine the level of safety that will be present in the location where this will be installed or carried out. Due to the fact that appropriate equipment and procedures are in place, the pre-startup safety review can be completed more quickly with a fail-safe machine, and a procedure that reduces the risks of human error is present.

Installation Verification

Installation Verification is a procedure that is both organised and written, and it is used to ensure that a piece of equipment, such as a machine, tool, or piece of software, always performs as it is intended to and satisfies the criteria. The equipment's performance, functionality, and dependability are checked and written down as part of this process, which includes trying, qualifying, and writing down the equipment.

Within the field of maintenance management, the main goal of installation proof is to build trust in the machine's ability to consistently produce the desired results. It makes it easier for those who work in repair to ensure that the machine functions correctly. They take measures to ensure that the product's quality remains good and that they adhere to all of the rules and regulations pertaining to safety. It will be easier for the maintenance workers to inspect the defects and provide the appropriate measures to fix problems and mitigate the risks. This will provide a good outcome, where there is less machine downtime and giving it more energy to formulate new strategies.

Results

This part of the pre-startup safety review compiles all the agreed plans and corrective actions made at the end of the PSSR. This summarises all reports, records, and documents that were taken during the pre-startup safety review. Having this would provide organisations with a record of all newly installed machines, fabricated procedures, products that were used, safety controls, and anything that was recently added. If it ever occurs that any of these are to be implemented or used again in the future, organisations will have a solid reference. This will produce a consistent safety culture within the organisation since a pre-startup safety review was documented at the end of its process.

Safety Systems, Legal and Regulatory Compliance

This part of the pre-startup safety review is the highest point of concern on why this is conducted. It checks whether everything that was recently added, like a machine, procedure, or product, aligns with the safety regulations in the area, state, or territory. The regulatory bodies in your areas have often made requirements that must be met by companies and organisations. These requirements usually already outline in detail the necessary steps and procedures to keep a safe environment for workers. The regulations often expound the specifics of each requirement so that it will be easier for companies and organisations to follow through. This assures that everything is compliant, reducing the risks of legal actions and fines.

Training and Competency

At the end of a pre-startup safety review, gaps are bound to be found. One of the perfect avenues to close these gaps is training. Training is the simplest solution you could provide to the organisation that yields an effective impact in the results. Basing your trainings on the PSSR results benefits you because workers will gain the required knowledge and skills to conduct such activity or use a product effectively and safely. It is a low-cost solution that can also be improved over time without the need to pay for additional costs. With enough people knowing about the requirements and correct safety procedures, safety is always ensured.

Do the Pre-Startup Safety Review, There's an Easy Way

One of the problems organisations usually face when doing a pre-startup safety review is the tedious process of doing so. Because of this, a lot of parts in the PSSR are not properly done, or the PSSR itself will not be implemented. But since we now know its importance, it is positively recommended that the PSSR be done to keep the safety of the workers and avoid legal fines.

Fortunately, Dashpivot provides a solution for this. It can provide you a digital form that you can access and complete any pre-start form on a computer, mobile device, or tablet, including group pre-starts, machine pre-starts, and vehicle pre-starts.

You can also attach photo proof directly to pre-start forms so people can see and action issues quickly. For group pre starts, contactless signatures enable workers to sign off on the pre start with the scan of a free digital ID card.

If you also want to create a tight feedback loop between your pre starts and issues/defects, then you can use a dedicated asset management system like Gearbelt.

Here is an example of a pre-startup safety review.

Fault management Gearbelt

Having this digital form from Dashpivot streamlines and organises your pre-startup safety review. Using this digital form can help you perform a much faster PSSR without missing out on the crucial details. This is the easier and much faster way to help improve safety in your workplace.

Common Examples of PSSR Oversights

There will always be a time when the deadlines to meet are nearing and the pressure to comply with these becomes heavy. When this happens, some procedures tend to be compromised so that more important items are given more time. One of the processes affected in this is the PSSR, and here are the usual deficiencies that often happen.

Failure to Conduct PSSR

It is a common occurrence that this happens when organisations are trying to make concessions, especially when a deadline is nearing. They often skip the PSSR and go directly at executing the crucial steps just to meet the deadline. We have established that a PSSR is crucial in maintaining safety in the workplace, and without this, there is a higher chance of unwanted injuries, accidents, and even asset damages.

Inadequate and Unqualified Inspectors

Sometimes, when there is a lack of manpower, organisations send personnel who aren't satisfactorily knowledgeable to conduct the PSSR. They usually do this just to comply with the requirements. This can be dangerous, especially if the crucial points of the review are overlooked. This will also give a non-legitimate review since the inspector reviewing lacks the expertise in doing so and there is not enough person to review the process, leaving a lot of loopholes for identifying problems.

Skipping and Ommiting Parts of the PSSR

This has the same effect with inadequate and unqualified inspectors. The review will be illegitimate since not all sections of the review are provided with enough concern, and there will be a lot of loopholes in the review results since crucial points might be missed and the correct solutions cannot be provided. This could really prove dangerous, especially if the process involves a lot of hazards.

Missing Appropriate Approval Steps

Organisations sometimes ignore the approval steps if PSSRs are rushed. These can increase ambiguity and make the report obscure since it lacks accountability from the required workers to review the process. Without a proper review, the chance of having accidents and injuries will soar.

Build digital processes around your Pre-Startup Safety Review procedures

There's more to PSSRs than just being well-documented.

A dedicated Pre-Startup Safety Review app can add extra functionality and features that save you time and make your work more efficient.

Scan your team's digital IDs to automatically add their name and signatures to the document for easy sign ons.

Automated workflows make it easy to draft, conduct and sign off on Pre-Startup Safety Reviews with automatic notifications to relevant team members so nothing is ever missed.

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About Felmar Niecel Mantalaba

Felmar is a mechanical engineer whose 4 years of experience in the mining industry inspired him to write and share stories to progress the revolution of new technologies and create smarter, smoother ways of living.

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