FAQ – FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Organizational Process Safety (OPS)Organizational Process Safety (OPS) is a next-level, risk-based process safety approach to eliminating dangerous and destructive
incidents across industries. As large and small-scale disasters continue to occur globally despite widespread regulations andacceptance of process safety management systems, OPS integrates technical and organizational factors into a holistic, objective
assessment framework. We have answered a few of the most frequently asked questions about OPS below:

Why Has DEKRA Developed Organizational
Process Safety (OPS)?

How Does OPS Differ from Process Safety (PS)?
The focus of Process Safety is to manage operating systems and

OPS is a natural evolution of our ongoing work to help industries

processes handling hazardous substances in order prevent fires,and organizations operate safely, efficiently and incident-free. It is

explosions and the accidental release of toxins. Its goal is to protect

our response to the incidents that continue to occur around thepeople, property and the environment, and it looks to good design

world resulting in death, injury and illness, environmental damageprinciples, engineering and operating practices to achieve thisand property destruction despite improvements and gains madeobjective.

through process safety mandates. As efforts to improve process

OPS complements process safety, taking it to the next level. Indeed,safety have stagnated in many companies, we see an opportunity to

we have designed our OPS assessments on the risk-based process

leverage the combined expertise of our process safety engineers

safety model developed by the Center of Chemical Process Safetywith that of our organizational culture experts to create a new, more(CCPS). Our OPS services assess organizations in terms of theireffective approach.

maturity in managing process safety risk and do so using a precise,repeatable and reproducible methodology.

© 2019 DEKRA SE or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved.

The assessment takes into account not only an organization’sThirdly, OPS is a lean approach that relies on existing

operating systems and processes, but its capabilities--knowledge,

documentation and a company’s own personnel. Consultants work

experience, data, skills and tools--as well as its culture, or the

directly with employees in the work environment, grounding theirunstated, shared practices, beliefs and values that underpin it.

recommendations in practical realities. No disruptions tooperations are required.

How Is the CCPS Risk-Based Process Safety (RBPS)
Model Incorporated into OPS?

Finally, in keeping with its foundational Risk Based Process Safety(RBPS) approach, OPS recognizes that not all risks are equallyprobable or equally damaging. A key feature of OPS is theprioritization of risks so that decision makers can allocate resources

All of the elements identified in RBPS, from compliance withefficiently and effectively address high risk activities first.

standards to hazard identification to process safety culture - 20 in
all - are addressed in our OPS assessments. We have streamlined
the RBPS framework, slotting the 20 elements into 7 workstreams:

Who Can Benefit from OPS?

capability; incident response; risk management; asset integrity;
While OPS is rooted in the risk-based process safety modelaccountability; operations; culture and organization.

established by the CCPS, it is suited to any industry and anyorganization. Manufacturers and service providers of all stripes

CAPABILITY
INCIDENT RESPONSE

CULTURERISK MANAGEMENT

have as much to gain as high-hazard chemical, oil & gas andpharmaceutical companies.

ASSET INTEGRITYOPERATIONSACCOUNTABILITY

Capability and culture impact all workstream elements.

What Are the Advantages of Organizational
Process Safety?

What Do DEKRA’s OPS Services Entail?
Since we value our role as trusted advisors, we listen first. Ourservices start with a discussion with our client to define the scopeof the project: which facilities, workstreams, sites, etc. would theclient like to assess? Once the parameters are defined, a team withspecialized knowledge of your industry, processes and technologies
carries out the assessment proper, working closely with yourFirst, OPS provides a comprehensive and objective measure of an

personnel as they do their jobs and analyzing existingorganization’s process safety management maturity. Based on thisdocumentation. The results of the assessment reflect the risk

assessment of the status quo, OPS generates recommendations

management maturity level of the organization or site: avoidance-designed to help the organization progress and identifies indicators

driven, compliance-driven or values-driven. Based on these results,

to monitor that progress. OPS assessment results can be used

our team makes recommendations and prioritizes actions. Scores

effectively for benchmarking, as the methodology is precise,are assigned to each workstream as a means of tracking progress. At

repeatable and reproducible.

this point, the organization can begin implementation of theSecondly, OPS is adaptable and can be applied to a single workstream

proposed improvement measures with the option of assistanceor multiple workstreams within an organization. It can focus on afrom DEKRA. The process can then be repeated once progress has

specific workstream element, several or assess them all. The process isbeen made, usually within 2 to 5 years.

both scalable and responsive to the specifics of individual companies.

Would you like more information?

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