--- title: Effective Process Safety Leadership in Practice description: This blog makes suggestions to what constitutes effective and practical Process Safety Management Leadership. image: https://blog.safetysolutions.com.au/hubfs/Man%20and%20Woman%20in%20hardhats%20pointing%20in%20dark%20factory%20-%20shutterstock_1870469602%20(1)%20(1)-2.jpg --- - [My Account](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/my-account/) - Country - [New Zealand](https://www.safetysolutions.co.nz/) - [Australia](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/) - [Global](https://www.safetysolutions.co.nz/) [![logo](https://blog.safetysolutions.com.au/hubfs/raw_assets/public/SafetysolutionsAU_May2020/images/header-logo.png)](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/) - [Training](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/training/) - Services - [Consulting](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/consulting/) - [Engineering](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/engineering/) - [MHF Support](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/mhf-support/) - [Resources](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/resources/) - [E-Learning](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/E-learning/) - [Blog](https://blog.safetysolutions.com.au/) - [About](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/about/) - [Contact](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/contact/) - [My Account](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/my-account/) - Country - [New Zealand](https://www.safetysolutions.co.nz/) - [Australia](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/) - [Global](https://www.safetysolutions.co.nz/) # Process Safety Blog # Effective Process Safety Leadership in Practice [Paul Feltoe](https://blog.safetysolutions.com.au/author/paul-feltoe) 4 Aug 2020, 10:55:15 am ##### Here are some observations and suggestions, starting with general safety leadership and then following on with some PSM specifics. 1. The culture and safety ethos of a company starts at the top with the board and CEO.  The CEO must demonstrate that he or she cares, and the actions that do this **cannot be delegated**. It has been my experience that you may not be able to change attitudes overnight, but behaviours certainly can be. 2. How does the CEO do this? Not like Homer Simpson, by walking around encouraging his workmates to “safen up”. Here are a few suggestions.  - Ensure your leadership team understand their responsibilities and make them accountable for the performance of safety management - Every time there is a significant incident/ LTI, go and **talk to the person in person**. Not the Safety Coordinator or the supervisor – **you – the CEO**. Talk through what happened, ensure the person is being looked after and ensure him or her that it will not happen again. - Have the manager responsible **report directly to you within 24 hours** (again not the Safety Coordinator or supervisor) while explaining which of the systems he/she is responsible for failed and why. They should explain what is being done in the short and long term to prevent a reoccurrence and what are the root causes. - Have **zero tolerance for non-compliance** with unsafe acts or PPE requirements. No manager should pass an unsafe situation without doing something about it. It is called having the courage of your convictions. - **Build safety metrics into the [K](https://www.icheme.org/media/14928/safety-centre-metrics.pdf)PIs of every manager** - When wandering around the facility, sometimes called MBWA (Management by Wandering Around) chat about any incidents that have occurred, concerns people may have or safety initiatives. **Do this before discussing production, quality etc.** - Be careful about rewarding a good safety performance  (eg a lack of reported accidents). This can backfire when an accident does occur leading to low morale and discouraging reporting. **Reward the achievement of proactive (leading) safety measures** like the implementation of an accident/incident investigation system or the development of a training program. **Your actions make it clear where your priorities lie.**     3. The board and CEO should **actively perform due diligence** on their business. This includes understanding their risks, providing resources to address them and verifying the performance of measures. If Process Safety is important to your business...   | [![Process-Safety-Due-Diligence-for-Executive-Leadership-white-4x3-1](https://blog.safetysolutions.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Process-Safety-Due-Diligence-for-Executive-Leadership-white-4x3-1.jpg?width=290&height=218&name=Process-Safety-Due-Diligence-for-Executive-Leadership-white-4x3-1.jpg)](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/product/process-safety-due-diligence-for-executive-leadership/)   | [![Process Safety Due Diligence E-Learning 4x3 (1)](https://blog.safetysolutions.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Process%20Safety%20Due%20Diligence%20E-Learning%204x3%20(1).jpg?width=280&height=210&name=Process%20Safety%20Due%20Diligence%20E-Learning%204x3%20(1).jpg)](https://processsafetylms.com/crm-e-learning/)   | [![Process Safety Foundations - white 4x3 (1)](https://blog.safetysolutions.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Process%20Safety%20Foundations%20-%20white%204x3%20(1).jpg?width=280&height=210&name=Process%20Safety%20Foundations%20-%20white%204x3%20(1).jpg)](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/product/process-safety-foundations/)   | | --- | --- | --- | | We offer a [Process Safety Due Diligence for Executive Leadership Training Course](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/product/process-safety-due-diligence-for-executive-leadership/) | [ Looking for a flexible learning option? Explore our](https://processsafetylms.com/product/critical-risk-management-for-directors-and-executives/)[Process Safety Due Diligence E-learning](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/product/process-safety-due-diligence-for-executive-leadership/) |  Find out about our next[Process Safety Foundations Training Course](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/product/process-safety-foundations/) | 4. [Ensure you and your senior staff understand what Process Safety is and what it involves.](https://processsafetylms.com/what-is-competency/) Do they understand how to drive PSM? What elements are critical to drive process safety performance such as MoC, [PtW](https://processsafetylms.com/permit-to-work-insights/), Risk Management etc? 5. Ensure the relevant parts of the company are aware of safety assessment assumptions and that these are identified and maintained e.g. maintenance routines and their frequency or that the [PtW](https://processsafetylms.com/permit-to-work-insights/) system is functioning correctly. 6. Make key Process Safety activities part of routine reporting and [K](https://www.icheme.org/media/14928/safety-centre-metrics.pdf)PIs for the leaders responsible. e.g.…. - trip and alarm testing – the number carried out, the number failed and corrected. - incident investigations – recommendations implemented - audits carried out, safety systems bypassed or changed. - HAZOPs undertaken and actions closed out (100% before commissioning). ##### **Ready to take your process safety strategy to the next level?** **[![VIEW PROCESS SAFETY DUE DILIGENCE FOR EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TRAINING](https://hubspot-no-cache-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/2135719/interactive-374286791107.png)](https://blog.safetysolutions.com.au/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLIdxRj3h76c7F6idc%2F8OaMNuIFQx4OzSXS%2BI4VW1viLHqpQr%2F9FnjghHCOKezb2TmEcpveI3e4dClcbGSY4IvTlvYIrJ9s1tVFWXyRZxOn4qYpBD%2FJLK4uXq3hj%2BTBe8Oor4L%2F9dcldllwo5Jk22EoJ3OwN%2Fb7OE2TZfnR1vZJGfJbJeIDofZ7SF8h70ScffP0teJ%2BXrjSlm%2FyMik%2FHN0HdV1RfsAM3CqbcRqmTNTqg7x%2BSOEu0Um19khAsYHCkjMQj00k%3D&webInteractiveContentId=374286791107&portalId=2135719&hsLang=en-au)** **  [![VIEW PROCESS SAFETY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION TRAINING](https://hubspot-no-cache-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/2135719/interactive-374310199792.png)](https://blog.safetysolutions.com.au/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLJwHQtVp3wMEPNvJRMlVg6yO0uWDw4BwGzfvdJwNUc%2B632CS9H26ju3eIpmKMTQ2KtebjP1UIb9KN%2FnbSOpG%2BUqi4tZCg0STT4aVISLiLh4OyYyh3HEFHruyHsKLxU9%2FBvjOrnciM5n%2FYrIdWnOHMt1FqvA6ElTDXAKCE24bmBcalUcattxpSgoxRsSN%2FHzSt6aRTP%2BlSv83%2FoGROhlBQ70QC5Gm8XpeNUyMjzJqCAOe%2FAvHw%3D%3D&webInteractiveContentId=374310199792&portalId=2135719&hsLang=en-au)** **Have questions or need guidance?** [Get in touch with our process safety consultants to discuss your facility risks and training needs.](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/contact/)   [Leadership](https://blog.safetysolutions.com.au/tag/leadership), [Critical Risk Managment](https://blog.safetysolutions.com.au/tag/critical-risk-managment) ## Read On ### [Process Safety Due Diligence for Executive Leadership For more serious incidents or near misses, a root cause analysis is to determine the technical and...](https://blog.safetysolutions.com.au/critical-risk-due-diligence-for-directors-executives?hsLang=en-au) ### [What If Your Manager Rejects a Process Safety Concern? One of the most difficult situations a process safety professional can face is finding a genuine...](https://blog.safetysolutions.com.au/what-if-your-manager-rejects-a-process-safety-concern?hsLang=en-au) ### [LOPA Red Flags You Can’t Afford to Ignore Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA) is a key technique to quantify the risks of a process scenario...](https://blog.safetysolutions.com.au/lopa-red-flags?hsLang=en-au) Copyright 2020 Safety Solutions | [Terms and Conditions](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/terms-and-conditions/) | [Privacy Policy](https://www.safetysolutions.com.au/privacy-policy/)