Abstract
As a Risk Engineer working in the insurance industry for nearly 25 years I have had the pleasure of visiting many operating onshore and offshore assets, as well as many others under construction, over the last few decades.
With the possible exception of permit to work systems, I doubt if I see a process safety management element abused more frequently than Management of Change (MoC). The control of changes, be it hardware, software, procedural or personnel, permanent or temporary, planned or emergency, seems to be a conundrum designed to trap not only the unwary but also the experienced plant operators.
There are as many different MoC systems as there are organisations, and there is no magic bullet or approved system. If there were, I assume everybody would be using it. Some are electronic, and some are paper-based. There is no right answer, but there are critical features that are essential in order to implement an effective MoC system.
In this presentation, I will cover these critical features of MoC systems and some of the common pitfalls. I will explain what we in the insurance world look for, and what we frequently find, both good and not so good. Finally, I will give an example from my own time in industry, which perfectly demonstrates the difficulties of implementing an effective MoC system.
