Appendix A
Glossary
This short glossary presents some terms the committee believes should be clearly defined for the reader. They are drawn from a National Research Council report, Safety and Environmental Metrics for Potential Application at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities, and a document published by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ Center for Chemical Process Safety, Guidelines for Process Safety Metrics.
Injury Physical trauma to a body part that requires treatment in some form (NRC, 2009).
Lagging indicator/metric A retrospective set of metrics that are based on incidents that meet an established threshold of severity (CCPS, 2009).
Leading indicator/metric A forward-looking set of metrics that indicates the performance of the key work processes, operating discipline, or layers of protection that prevent incidents. It may include measures of safe practices such as training and completion of safety meetings, as well as distractions in the workplace (CCPS, 2009).
Metric A standard of measurement or indicator of process safety management efficiency or performance (CCPS, 2009).
Near miss An undesired event that, under slightly different circumstances, could have resulted in harm to people or damage to property, equipment, or the environment (NRC, 2009).
Process safety incident An unusual or unexpected event that either resulted in, or had the potential to result in, serious injury to personnel, significant damage to property, adverse environmental impact, or a major interruption of process operations (CCPS, 2009).
REFERENCES
CCPS (Center for Chemical Process Safety). 2009. Guidelines for Process Safety Metrics. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
NRC (National Research Council). 2009. Safety and Environmental Metrics for Potential Application at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.
