It supplements a company's internal incident databases, improves hazard assessments, and facilitates due-diligence activities. The Exxon IRAS software has been modified to suit the needs of the CCPS participants by adding and deleting fields and modifying the pick lists used. Contracts between CCPS and contractors hired to process confidential data contain strict requirements maintaining the security and confidentiality of data, including an audit process. The selection of specific process safety incidents for submission of data is strictly voluntary. Companies have the right to refrain from submitting any incident that might be involved in litigation or might be otherwise sensitive.
Procedures are in place to prevent any third party attempts to access the data.
A fixed annual fee is shared equally by all participating companies to cover the ongoing costs directly associated with the database. These costs cover contractor maintenance, as needed, and the cost for processing new data, including quality control and data entry. There may be additional costs, but the participating companies agree upon these expenditures before the expense is incurred. The remainder of the initial costs will be covered by a one-time assessment of those organizations which elect to participate in the database. Those companies subscribing after the project initiation date, will pay an additional one-time entry fee.