iii. HOW TO USE THE GUIDANCE

 

As indicated above, this Document does not contain a programme that can be lifted out and applied as a whole. Rather, the guidance can only be effectively used if efforts are made to: decide which (sub)chapters are relevant under your particular circumstances; and to adapt these parts to your specific needs and objectives.

This section describes a process for using the guidance to develop an individual SPI Programme, that is both appropriate for your particular organisation and can provide a realistic assessment of changes in the level of chemical safety over time. See Figure 1, which summarizes the steps described below.

It should be kept in mind that it requires substantial thought, planning, and time to develop and implement an SPI Programme and make it work. Furthermore, an effective SPI Programme is not a one-time effort. By definition, it needs to be administered periodically in order to measure trends and changes in performance over time.

STEP ONE:

Define your Goals/Objectives With Respect to Safety

The first step to be taken by an enterprise/organisation establishing an SPI Programme is to identify chemical safety goals and objectives for their enterprise/organisation, as well as an infrastructure for implementing those goals and objectives.

For purposes of this Document, "goals" are defined as general results that the organisation is working to accomplish and "objectives" are defined as the level of achievement expected from the implementation of the goals. Generally, objectives should be expressed in terms that are measurable.

As part of this step, it is important to gain the support of the highest levels of management for the implementation of an SPI Programme (whether in an enterprise, public authority or community/public organisation), along with the necessary resources for such a Programme. This includes the assistance of all relevant parts of the enterprise/organisation.

STEP TWO:

Review the Guidance/Choose Relevant Parts

Each enterprise/organisation should choose the specific targets, outcome indicators, and activity indicators that might be relevant, taking into account the overall safety objectives and policies of the enterprise/organisation, and the key aspects to be measured.

The Guidance was designed to address all aspects of chemical accident prevention, preparedness and response, recognising that many of the subjects, and indicators, would not be relevant in the case of a particular enterprise/organisation. Furthermore, each enterprise/organisation should consider how best to approach the implementation of an SPI Programme. One possibility might be to do it in a step-wise fashion by starting with a limited number of indicators and then expanding the Programme over time.

For example, readers from the industrial sector should review the guidance taking into account such issues as:

• the nature of your industry/organisation (e.g., does it relate to a chemical production facility, a manufacturer of electronic components that use chemicals, a transport interface, or even a local community that stores chlorine for use in swimming pools);
• your corporate safety culture and safety policies; and
• local laws and customs.