Mnagement systems and Process Safety

The Indian chemical industry is on a path of vibrant growth. Many chemical manufacturing units recognize the need to manage process safety as the consequences of a chemical accident today are enormous. However, organisations also need to realise that management systems alone will not help. Getting certified to ISO 14001,OHSAS 18001 or Responsible Care etc cannot by itself prevent a disaster. It is the Management of these systems that will prevent one!By this I mean how does the top management utilise these systems to prevent a disaster? In many organisations in India I have observed that when a key top management person like the CEO changes,and a new CEO arrives,these management systems may go for a toss if the new CEO was not as focused on them as the previous one! How do we ensure continuity of effective implementation of systems? My answer is that profits should never override process safety and other management systems. This is easier said than done! Read an interesting article in this link.