NEP program guidelines should apply to any plant

An overview of the 14 elements that makes up the National Emphasis Program

By John Ross, Marshall Institute April 11, 2013

It stands to reason that if you’re in a facility that is not PSM mandated, you might not be too concerned with the National Emphasis Program. If you are in a PSM organization, you might have made the mistake of thinking it’s a safety program. The fact is, as identified above, much of the process safety centers around engineering and maintenance.

In a sampling of the results of 98 CHEMNEP inspections, 44% were found to be traditional engineering and maintenance related: mechanical integrity and process safety information.

Here are the 14 elements that make up the NEP. Review them and see how many can and should apply to your facility and how your company works: 

  • Employee participation
  • Process safety information
  • Process hazard analysis
  • Operating procedures
  • Training
  • Contractors
  • Pre start-up review
  • Mechanical integrity
  • Hot work permit
  • Management of change
  • Incident investigation
  • Emergency planning and response
  • Compliance audits
  • Trade secrets

Learn more about how to make sense of process safety and other safety issues from the Marshall Institute below.