i. OVERVIEW/EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

Introduction

This Document was designed to serve as a tool to assist industrial enterprises, public authorities, and communities near hazardous installations world-wide develop and implement a means to assess the success of their chemical safety activities. The guidance does not define a precise methodology, but rather provides guidance on how to develop and use safety performance indicators including the general elements of Safety Performance Indicators (SPI) Programmes.

This Document is NOT prescriptive; rather, it provides suggestions related to the elements that might be included in a voluntary SPI Programme and provides general guidance on the process of establishing and implementing such a Programme. In reviewing this Document, it is important to keep in mind that not all elements of the guidance will be appropriate in each situation. It is up to each reader to create a Programme that is appropriate for their particular organisation by:

• reviewing the guidance carefully;
• selecting those elements that are relevant in their circumstances;
• adapting the elements to be consistent with their organisations' vocabulary, policies and procedures; and
• developing metrics for measuring trends over time.

Given the scope and length of this Document, it may appear that implementation of an SPI Programme is a daunting process. However, each enterprise/organisation should use only those parts of the Document that are useful to its own situation. Furthermore, an SPI Programme can be implemented in steps, starting with a limited number of subjects, and expanding the Programme as experience is gained.

The Document is a companion to, and builds on, the OECD Guiding Principles for Chemical Accident Prevention, Preparedness and Response (^2nd edition, 2003).¹ In addition, it is intended to be consistent with, and complementary to, related international initiatives in the public and private sectors².

What are Indicators?

For purposes of this Document, the term "indicators" is used to mean observable measures that provide insights into a concept - safety³ - that is difficult to measure directly. Examples of two types of indicators are included in the Guidance: "activities indicators" and "outcome indicators":

• Activities indicators are designed to help identify whether enterprises/organisations are taking actions believed to lower risks (e.g., the types of actions described in the Guiding Principles); and
  
  
• Outcome indicators are designed to help measure whether such actions are, in fact, leading to less likelihood of an accident occurring and/or less adverse impact on human health or the environment from an accident.