1. Recognize all changes. Without a thorough understanding of what changes are going to happen, it is difficult for a management team to evaluate its potential impact to the organization. Know the details of the change, so that it can be properly managed.

2. Identify the hazards and risks. A careful risk analysis must be done to cover every potential hazard that the change will cause. Seemingly minimal effects should never be overlooked. Instead, they should be treated as though they can impact the organization in a big way. Worst-case scenarios for each risk must be identified, so that steps can be made to avoid them.

3. Note hazards that can be minimized, controlled, or totally avoided. Management needs to accept the reality that not all risks can be avoided. Some can only be managed or reduced. It’s important to determine which risks can be totally avoided. Plans should then be initiated to reduce or manage unavoidable hazards.

4. Find out if the change is feasible or can be implemented given the circumstances. This is more like a risk-reward analysis. The management team can ask themselves, “Can the changes be done with the least amount of danger possible, or do the hazards caused by the change outweigh its rewards?”

5. Conduct a Pre-Startup Safety Review (PSSR). The PSSR is a thorough review of equipment and its related processes to ensure that safety measures are in place. It is most often used in processes involving chemical substances. This is more like a verification check of the entire rocket ship before take-off (you get the picture).

6. Implement the change — if safe to do so. The organization must implement the change, knowing all the risks in advance and how it might impact the workers. The goal of responsible leadership must be to help employees smoothly glide through the painful process of change without endangering them. Emergency measures should also be in place if a potential accident turns into a real one.

7. Train all affected workers. Any involved employee, as well as all managers who will execute your new processes, should be carefully trained on the new procedures. More knowledge and hands-on-training will lead to fewer or zero instances of mishaps, or to less serious consequences when failures occur.

8. Follow new procedures and continue to evaluate feedback from the ground. As changes are rolled out, management should continue to evaluate the worker’s exposure to risk. This can be receiving continuous feedback and reports from the organization’s day-to-day operations. Management Of Change does not mean that risk management is conducted only during the change. The truth is, MOC happens long before a change is even implemented. Ideally, employers conducting MOC have already anticipated workforce safety issues even before changes are introduced.

For petroleum refineries, MOC plan will include descriptions of:

Some commonly (and unlawfully) overlooked changes include: