What is process safety management (PSM)?

A strong approach to PSM can help lower risks to workers and ensure that enterprises are following a wide range of workplace safety rules. Strong PSM is central to how organizations that need to process hazardous chemicals shape a strong approach to risk management. This way, they identify, assess and resolve different types of threats to their core business processes.

In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a federal agency within the Department of Labor, establishes the PSM rules and occupational safety regulations. The rules are outlined in their Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals standard, 29 Core Federal Regulation (CFR) 1910.119—a management system that sets threshold quantities for the use of extremely hazardous substances like toxic or flammable liquids and gases.

The global market for PSM is large and growing. According to a recent report, it was valued at USD 3.5 billion in 2025. Furthermore, it is expected to reach USD 5.9 billion over the next 7 years, meaning a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5%.¹

While process safety management (PSM) and occupational safety are closely related terms, occupational safety refers more generally to how organizations can protect workers from suffering a wide range of workplace injuries. PSM is focused on preventing incidents caused by the release of hazardous materials.

Occupational safety emphasizes worker adherence to safety practices, behaviors and procedures, while PSM is concerned with comprehensive management systems and risk assessments that help lower risk.

For example, while an occupational safety process might help ensure workers wear gloves while handling toxic chemicals, a PSM system ensures that the entire approach to how the chemicals are manufactured, stored and used is safe.

Process safety management (PSM) is based on a rigorous set of practices that organizations deploy across their business processes. These practices, known collectively as a process safety management program, involve data gathering and processing, risk reduction methodologies and continuous education and improvement.

Even though it originated in the United States, the OSHA standard is considered one of the strongest and most frequently referenced PSM frameworks globally. The set of requirements it outlines—known as “OSHA’s 14 elements of PSM”—helps keep workers safe and organizations compliant when working with a wide range of hazardous materials.

OSHA’s 14 elements of PSM form the core guidance for organizations that need to work with hazardous materials. To comply, employers must develop a process to cover each one.

1. Process safety information (PSI): A detailed list of potential chemical hazards and the equipment required to safely control it.
2. Process hazard analysis (PHA): A structured analysis of processes that rely on popular PSM methodologies like Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOP) and “what-if” reviews.
3. Operating procedures: Detailed descriptions of all procedures where toxic substances are handled, including normal business operations as well as system and equipment shutdown and startup controls.
4. Employee participation: Active participation of all employees involved in PSM processes, including key steps like hazard identification, safety planning and the training and deployment of PHA teams.
5. Ongoing training: Detailed instruction on processes and tactics to help ensure all personnel understand the hazards and safe practices applicable to the substances they are handling.
6. Contractor management: Guidance for all contractors to help them understand the risks and safe work practices required to safely handle chemicals and substances.
7. Pre-startup safety review (PSSR): Any new or modified processes must meet PSM’s safety requirements before a system or process is started or restarted.
8. Mechanical integrity: Organizations must show proof of rigorous programs for maintaining equipment, piping, instruments and safety systems.
9. Hot work permits: ‘Hot work’ permits are controlled permits issued specially for activities that could potentially introduce an ignition source near flammable material.
10. Management of change (MOC): A formal risk assessment and approval process for any planned changes to hazardous materials, technology, equipment or processes.
11. Incident investigation: A rigorous, root cause analysis of any process safety incidents to ensure that they don’t occur again in the future.
12. Emergency planning and response procedures: Organizations must show that they have comprehensive plans and systems in place for responding to both internal and external emergency scenarios.
13. Compliance audits: To be compliant, organizations must submit to regular, documented compliance audits designed to ensure the effectiveness of their PSM program.
14. Trade secrets: Organizations must guarantee unrestricted access to PSM information, even if they consider it confidential.

While OSHA defines the regulatory guidelines governing how organizations should create effective PSM programs, many organizations seek extra guidance from the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS). The CCPS is a division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). CCPS provides a framework that goes deeper than OSHA’s guidance and focuses on cultural transformation and creating a deeper understanding of risk at an enterprise level. 

In addition to OSHA’s 14 elements of PSM, the CCPS model includes guidance on how organizations can:

• Create a process safety culture

• Provide rigorous process safety training

• Engage stakeholders across the entire business, not just in the business units (BUs) closely involved with handling hazardous chemicals

• Establish operational readiness for all employees

• Ensure asset integrity and performance

Strong PSM programs help organizations that need to work with hazardous materials build strategic approaches to the way they conduct their core business processes safely and ensure compliance with regulatory demands. Here’s a look at some of the top benefits of PSM at the enterprise level.

Organizations that practice an effective PSM program can dramatically reduce the likelihood of a catastrophic event by identifying hazards and implementing rigorous process controls.

PSM helps organizations lower the risk of a wide range of catastrophic failures (including toxic releases, fires and explosions) that can harm workers and cause unplanned work stoppages.

PSM programs can help organizations that operate in rigorous compliance environments to meet their regulatory requirements and increase their audit readiness. A strong PSM practice helps strengthen an organization’s compliance capabilities by creating a structured, systematic approach to how it will meet its regulatory responsibilities.

Essentially, it helps transform compliance from a reactive practice into a dynamic management function, introducing greater accountability and documentation into every aspect of business operations.

Business continuity for organizations that deal with hazardous chemicals is critical. In addition to injuring workers, fires and chemical spills can lead to catastrophic stoppages of core business processes.

Effective PSM helps prevent unplanned shutdowns and disruptions by establishing rigorous, highly strategic programs for the handling of dangerous chemicals in a way that lowers the risk of catastrophic incidents.

PSM helps organizations create safer workplaces and lowers the likelihood of dangerous incidents that could spread to the communities they operate in.

For example, by applying a PSM program to an oil pipeline, an enterprise reduces the likelihood of a dangerous chemical spill or fire breaking out because of equipment failure or human error.

PSM systems with high employee participation help strengthen workplace morale and build a sense of shared responsibility.

Safety performance and risk management are two critical aspects of how organizations that handle hazardous materials measure their own success. These two aspects can be dramatically improved through the strong organizational culture that results from buy-in to a PSM program.

To successfully implement a strong process safety management (PSM) program, organizations need to align across multiple business disciplines, including operations, leadership, engineering and maintenance.

While approaches differ depending on a business’s size and the industry they operate in, this four-step approach is effective for many organizations.

1. Clearly define roles: First, leadership must empower teams handling hazardous materials with the authority and resources they need to build systems and practices they can rely upon. Individuals who have been properly trained should be assigned appropriate roles across all aspects of relevant business processes and safety procedures.
2. Create risk assessment methodologies: To be effective, PSM programs must establish a reliable way for workers and teams to assess risk like PHA, MOC and emergency response. These methodologies are critical in measuring the risks associated with processing dangerous chemicals.
3. Establish effective training programs: To prepare teams to implement PSM, organizations must create appropriate and accessible training programs. Training programs for PSM implementation frequently cover a wide range of worker safety protocols, safe work practices and education about relevant equipment.
4. Incorporate the latest technologies: The technologies that are transforming PSM by adding new capabilities and efficiencies must be properly integrated into existing workflows to be effective. IoT sensors, real-time dashboards and digital twin technology, for example, must be properly installed and incorporated in ways that empower workers to use them.

Unlike other systematic approaches to workplace culture, ineffective PSM can result in dangerous work conditions for employees and individuals living in nearby communities. Because of the nature of the materials that organizations practicing PSM handle, failures and breakdowns in communication can have disastrous results.

The following are some of the consequences of poorly established and practiced PSM:

• Loss of life

• Severe physical and mental injury

• Toxic releases of chemicals and gases

• Property damage

• Environmental damage

• Legal liabilities, fines and reputational loss

Process safety management (PSM) is used effectively across many industries and is considered essential to businesses that routinely process hazardous materials. Here’s a look at three prominent use cases.

In the oil and gas industry, PSM is a critical part of worker safety in oil refineries and petrochemical plants. The oil and gas industry routinely maintains large inventories of highly flammable and toxic materials that must be tightly controlled through a PSM system that helps prevent fires, explosions and toxic releases.

Waste treatment plants rely on PSM to control their processes around the hazardous chemicals they use for disinfection, neutralization and odor control. Here are a few examples:

• Sulfur dioxide for dichlorination

• Ammonia to remove nutrients

• Hydrogen sulfide that’s produced from anaerobic digestion

OSHA maintains threshold quantities for each of these substances that waste treatment plants must adhere to or risk fines.

In the pharmaceutical industry, PSM plays a crucial role in helping businesses keep the chemical and biological processes they rely on to produce their products safe. While pharmaceutical production doesn’t always involve large-scale use of hazardous chemicals, plants often use highly reactive chemicals and flammable materials in their production processes. Like other industries that use PSM to maintain a safe workplace, the pharmaceuticals industry is regulated by OSHA’s 29 CFR 1910.119.

Who is covered by PSM?

All facilities in the United States that handle hazardous chemicals or flammable liquids at or above OSHA’s stated threshold quantities must comply with their standard. PSM 29 CFR 1910.119 lists over 130 highly hazardous chemicals that must be managed strictly according to the systems and guidelines OSHA has put in place or organizations can face steep fines.

What is the difference between process safety management and a risk management program?

While PSM focuses on worker safety and the processes used to control the handling of dangerous chemicals according to general industry standards, a risk management program (RMP) is broader in scope. The RMP emphasizes the impact of chemical processing on the larger community. RMPs tend to concentrate their efforts on preventing toxic releases, such as oil and chemical spills, that could have damaging effects on the environment.

While both programs deal with the prevention of catastrophic incidents that can arise from processing hazardous materials, they differ in scope and their areas of focus.

How often should an organization’s PHA be updated?

OSHA requires PHAs to be updated every five years (or whenever there has been a significant change made to the process). According to OSHA’s guidelines, PHAs should also be updated when modifications trigger MOC reviews that could impact a risk profile or otherwise change how an organization assesses risk.