Safety management is a virtue

It is undeniable that safe operation and process reliability are not only compatible but highly interrelated. Reliable production units rarely have safety incidents, whereas unreliable ones tend to repeatedly experience abnormal operation. To prevent incidents, personnel, procedures, and equipment must be aligned to facilitate rapid identification and response to failures of the control system and protective safeguards. Safe and reliable performance requires minimization of the root causes that lead to abnormal and emergency operation. The challenges to accomplishing this in a timely manner are considerable, but not insurmountable.