Jenkins Academy of Applied Technology
PSM-001 — Learner reference
Process Safety Management · v1.0.0 · October 22, 2026
Course developed by Todd Jerome Jenkins, MS, CSP.
Learn how OSHA PSM helps prevent major chemical releases. Covers process hazards, safe work, training, changes and emergencies. Fourteen audible lessons; allow about 45–60 minutes.
Online knowledge component only. This course does not provide process-operator qualification, PHA-leader competence, HAZWOPER response qualification or proof of facility compliance. Actual process-specific operator, maintenance and contractor training, verified understanding and employer controls remain separate.
1. Understand PSM and covered processes
By the end: Identify the employer’s documented process boundary and coverage decision before relying on an exemption.
Process safety management, or PSM, aims to prevent major releases of highly hazardous chemicals. A release may cause a toxic exposure, fire or explosion that harms many people. Good injury statistics do not prove that a process is safe. PSM looks at the equipment, chemistry, work methods and systems that prevent a major event.
Coverage depends on the process, chemical and quantity. Appendix A lists chemicals and their threshold quantities. Another coverage path addresses Category 1 flammable gases and liquids with flashpoints below 100 degrees F at 10,000 pounds or more in one location, subject to the stated exceptions. This is not a universal 10,000-pound threshold for all chemicals.
The process definition includes use, storage, handling, manufacture and on-site movement. Interconnected vessels and separate vessels positioned so they could be involved in a release may form one process. Do not divide connected equipment into separate small inventories to assume it is exempt. The employer must evaluate the actual facts, thresholds and exclusions, including the specific fuel, atmospheric-storage, retail, well-operation and remote-facility provisions.
Construction rule 1926.64 directs employers to 1910.119. This course explains the program and training duties. It does not qualify a person to operate a specific process, lead a hazard study or respond to a chemical emergency. Even where PSM does not apply, other safety requirements may still apply.
Basis: 29 CFR 1910.119(a)-(b), Appendix A; 1926.64
2. Use employee knowledge and access to information
By the end: Locate the participation plan, PHA access route and confidential information procedure.
Workers often know how a process behaves between written steps. They may notice an unreliable alarm, a valve that is hard to reach or a workaround used during a busy shift. Bring that information to the employer’s PSM process. Report the actual conditions and the reason a task is difficult rather than assuming that a written rule describes all work.
The employer must have a written plan for employee participation. Employees and their representatives must be consulted on process hazard analyses and development of the other PSM elements. They must have access to process hazard analyses and other information the standard requires. Participation involves useful input, not only a signature showing attendance.
Trade-secret status does not allow necessary information to be withheld from people doing the PSM duties identified in 1910.119(p). Confidentiality agreements may be used. Employee and representative access to trade-secret information follows the referenced hazard-communication rules. Access for safety work is different from permission to publish confidential information.
Learn where the current information is kept and whom to contact when it is missing or unclear. Explain concerns through the established reporting route. A worker’s report does not transfer the employer’s duty to provide a safe system to that worker. The employer must resolve relevant issues through the appropriate review and control process.
Basis: 29 CFR 1910.119(c), (p)
3. Use current process safety information
By the end: Find the current flow diagram, process limits, equipment information and revision owner.
Process safety information, or PSI, is the factual basis for understanding the process. It must be compiled before the required process hazard analysis. It covers chemical hazards, process technology and equipment. A product safety data sheet may supply some chemical information, but it is not the complete process information package.
Chemical information includes toxicity, exposure limits, physical properties, reactivity, corrosion, stability and harmful effects of foreseeable mixing. Process technology includes a flow diagram, chemistry, maximum intended inventory and safe upper and lower limits. The information must also address the consequences of deviations from those limits.
Equipment information includes construction materials, piping and instrument diagrams, electrical classification, relief-system design, ventilation, design codes and safety systems. The employer must document compliance with recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices. Older equipment under obsolete codes needs the specific safety determination and documentation required by the rule; age alone is not proof of acceptable condition.
Use the controlled, current information for the actual equipment. If a drawing, label or operating limit conflicts with the field condition, stop the affected decision and obtain review. Do not invent a limit or assume an earlier equipment model is equivalent. Changes that affect PSI must be reflected through the change-management process.
Basis: 29 CFR 1910.119(d)
4. Understand process hazard analysis and follow-through
By the end: Locate relevant PHA findings and confirm how assigned actions and verified closure are tracked.
A process hazard analysis, or PHA, identifies, evaluates and helps control process hazards. The method must fit the complexity of the process. OSHA lists methods such as What-If, checklists, HAZOP, failure-mode analysis and fault-tree analysis, or an appropriate equivalent. This overview does not train a person to lead those studies.
The team needs expertise in engineering and process operations. At least one member must have knowledge and experience specific to the process, and one must know the method being used. The analysis addresses hazards, relevant prior incidents, controls and their interactions, consequences of control failures, facility siting and human factors. It also considers possible effects on employees.
Recommendations need a system for prompt attention and timely, documented resolution. Record actions, a written completion schedule and communication to affected operating, maintenance and other personnel. A recommendation marked received is not proof that the risk has been addressed. Verify what was actually changed or why another resolution is justified.
The PHA must be updated and revalidated at least every five years by a team meeting the rule’s qualifications. Keep the PHA, updates or revalidations and documented recommendation resolutions for the life of the process. A five-year cycle does not authorize unreviewed changes between studies; management of change has its own duties.
Basis: 29 CFR 1910.119(e)
5. Follow operating limits and safe work practices
By the end: Locate the procedure for the actual operating phase, limits, deviation response and shutdown authority.
Written operating procedures must give clear instructions consistent with the process safety information. They must cover initial startup, normal and temporary operation, emergency shutdown, emergency operation, normal shutdown and startup after a turnaround or emergency shutdown. An ordinary production checklist may not cover these different conditions.
The procedures must explain operating limits, what deviations can cause and how to avoid or correct them. They also address chemical hazards, exposure controls, response to contact or airborne exposure, raw-material quality, inventory control, unusual hazards and safety-system functions. Emergency shutdown conditions and responsibility must be assigned to qualified operators.
Procedures must be readily accessible to employees who operate or maintain the process. Review them as often as needed to reflect current practice and changes. The employer must certify annually that they are current and accurate. Annual certification is not permission to leave a known error in place until the anniversary date.
Safe work practices must control activities such as lockout/tagout, confined-space entry, opening piping or equipment, and access by maintenance, contractor, laboratory and support staff. They apply to employees and contractors. This course does not teach a generic valve lineup or shutdown sequence. Use the actual authorized procedure and escalate unclear or conflicting instructions.
Basis: 29 CFR 1910.119(f)
6. Provide initial, refresher and verified training
By the end: Record actual process instruction, verification results, gaps corrected and the employer’s refresher decision.
Each employee must receive the required training before operating a newly assigned process. Training covers an overview of that process and its operating procedures. It emphasizes the specific safety and health hazards, emergency operations including shutdown, and safe work practices for the employee’s tasks. A general PSM course cannot supply all of that site-specific content.
Operating employees must receive refresher training at least every three years and more often when necessary. The employer determines the appropriate frequency in consultation with the employees involved in operating the process. Do not wait for the three-year date when changed conditions or gaps in understanding require earlier training.
The employer must ascertain that each operating employee received and understood the training. The record must identify the employee, training date and means used to verify understanding. Attendance alone does not establish understanding. Teach-back, scenario discussion and safe task demonstrations can help verify it when suited to the task. Do not create a hazardous demonstration to test a learner.
Maintenance training under paragraph (j)(3) and contractor duties under paragraph (h) have their own requirements. Affected people also need change training before startup under paragraph (l)(3). Do not apply the operator refresher interval as a universal schedule for every role. This course sets no OSHA-required number of classroom hours or blanket process-operator credential.
Basis: 29 CFR 1910.119(g), (j)(3), (l)(3)
7. Coordinate host and contractor responsibilities
By the end: Confirm both employers’ information exchange, actual worker instruction and task controls.
The contractor provisions cover maintenance, repair, turnaround, major renovation and specialty work on or adjacent to a covered process. The exclusion for incidental services depends on those services not influencing process safety. A job title or short contract does not establish that exclusion. Review what the contractor will actually do and where the work occurs.
The host employer must obtain and evaluate contractor safety-performance and program information. It must explain known potential fire, explosion and toxic-release hazards and the applicable emergency action plan. It must control contractor entry, presence and exit through safe work practices, periodically evaluate contractor performance and maintain the required contractor injury and illness log for process-area work.
The contract employer must train each worker in safe practices for the job and instruct them on the known process hazards and applicable emergency plan. It must document receipt and understanding with worker identity, date and verification method. It must ensure workers follow the facility rules and advise the host of unique hazards introduced or hazards found during the work.
Coordinate before entry and when the task changes. Confirm isolation, permits, nearby operations, alarms and reporting contacts with the responsible people. A host orientation does not replace the contractor’s task training, and the contractor’s general safety course does not replace the host’s process-hazard information. Resolve missing information before exposure.
Basis: 29 CFR 1910.119(h)
8. Verify readiness before introducing chemicals
By the end: Confirm the applicable PSSR, training completion and documented readiness before startup authorization.
A pre-startup safety review, or PSSR, is required for new facilities and for modifications significant enough to require a change in process safety information. It is a readiness check before introducing highly hazardous chemicals. A construction completion notice or production deadline does not replace it.
The review confirms that construction and equipment match design specifications. It also confirms that safety, operating, maintenance and emergency procedures are in place and adequate. For new facilities, the PHA must have been performed and its recommendations resolved or implemented before startup. Modified facilities must meet the management-of-change requirements.
Training of each employee involved in operating the process must be complete. Verify the actual instruction and understanding, not only whether a course was assigned. Check that the current procedures, equipment condition and trained workforce match the intended startup. An outstanding safety item cannot be treated as closed because someone expects to finish it later.
Use the employer’s authorized startup decision and supporting evidence. Workers should know their role, operating limits and response to deviations before the chemical is introduced. This overview does not authorize startup or replace engineering review. If the process condition changes after the review, resolve whether another review or updated controls are needed before proceeding.
Basis: 29 CFR 1910.119(i)
9. Maintain the equipment that controls the hazard
By the end: Find equipment limits, inspection results and the authorized process for handling deficiencies.
Mechanical integrity means keeping process equipment suitable for safe service. The rule covers vessels, tanks, piping and valves, relief and vent devices, emergency shutdown systems, controls, sensors, alarms, interlocks and pumps. A machine can still run while a safety function is degraded. Production performance is not proof of integrity.
The employer must establish and implement written maintenance procedures. Maintenance employees need an overview of the process and hazards plus the procedures for their own tasks. Inspection and testing must follow recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices. Frequency must reflect manufacturer recommendations, good engineering practice and more frequent checks when prior experience shows the need.
Each inspection or test record must include the date, person performing it, equipment identifier, description and results. Equipment outside acceptable limits must be corrected before further use or in a safe and timely manner when necessary measures assure safe operation. That provision is not permission for a worker to decide that a leak or failed interlock can be ignored.
New equipment, installation, spares and maintenance materials must suit the process application. A part that fits physically may have the wrong material or rating. Report defects and follow the approved disposition, isolation and repair process. Verify necessary safeguards and authorization rather than treating a repair request as evidence that continued operation is safe.
Basis: 29 CFR 1910.119(j)
10. Control ignition sources and permitted work
By the end: Check the authorized object, dates, actual fire precautions and related work controls before hot work.
Hot work includes welding, cutting, brazing and similar flame- or spark-producing work. On or near a covered process, the employer must issue a hot-work permit. The concern is not just the object being heated. Nearby equipment, hidden spaces, residues and changing operations can create a fire or explosion hazard.
The permit must document that the fire-prevention and protection requirements in 1910.252(a) were implemented before work starts. It must state the authorized dates and identify the object being worked on. Keep the permit on file until the hot-work operation is complete. A signature alone cannot prove that actual precautions are in place.
Follow the site’s required preparation, testing, isolation, fire-watch and protective arrangements as applicable to the job. Do not weld or cut an unknown vessel or line based on appearance or a claim that it is empty. Cleaning, isolation and evaluation require the appropriate procedures and trained people. This lesson does not authorize hot work or provide those technical instructions.
Coordinate other permits and safe work practices, including line opening, lockout/tagout and confined-space entry where applicable. One permit does not replace the others. If conditions change, stop the affected work and have the permit and controls reassessed through the authorized process. Do not extend permission to a different object or date by assumption.
Basis: 29 CFR 1910.119(k), 1910.252(a), 1910.119(f)(4)
11. Manage changes before they affect the process
By the end: Identify changes, confirm the technical replacement-in-kind decision and verify pre-startup instruction.
Management of change, or MOC, controls changes to chemicals, technology, equipment, procedures and facilities that affect a covered process. The exception is replacement in kind: a replacement that satisfies the design specification. A part with the same size or brand is not automatically replacement in kind. Temporary changes also need review when they fall within the rule.
Written MOC procedures must address the technical basis, safety and health impact, needed operating-procedure changes, necessary time period and authorization requirements before the change. A temporary bypass can disable an important safeguard. Define the approved duration and restoration arrangements through the actual change process rather than letting a temporary condition become normal.
Operating employees and affected maintenance and contract employees must be informed of and trained in the change before startup of the process or affected part. Update PSI and operating procedures when the change affects them. An email announcing new equipment does not establish that the affected people understand the changed hazards and tasks.
Workers should recognize a change and route it for review, not decide technical equivalence by guesswork. If a proposed substitute, altered set point or revised sequence has not been evaluated, use the site escalation process. MOC approval and a required pre-startup safety review serve related but different purposes; complete each requirement that applies.
Basis: 29 CFR 1910.119(l), (b)
12. Investigate events and learn from near misses
By the end: Practice prompt reporting and identify how findings, corrective actions and affected-worker reviews are tracked.
PSM investigations cover incidents that caused, or could reasonably have caused, a catastrophic release. No injury or major damage is needed to trigger that duty. A failed safeguard, unexpected release or dangerous process deviation may reveal serious potential even when the immediate outcome was limited. Report promptly through the site process.
The investigation must begin as promptly as possible and no later than 48 hours after the incident. That is a deadline to initiate the investigation, not permission to delay emergency action and not a requirement to finish the entire investigation in 48 hours. Preserve relevant evidence safely without interfering with rescue or hazard control.
The team must include someone knowledgeable in the process. Include a contract employee when the incident involved contractor work, along with other people having suitable knowledge and experience. The report must identify the incident date, investigation start date, incident description, contributing factors and recommendations. Examine equipment, procedures, conditions and controls rather than stopping at a label such as carelessness.
The employer must promptly address and resolve findings and recommendations and document resolutions and corrective actions. Review the report with affected personnel whose tasks relate to the findings, including applicable contractors. Retain investigation reports for five years. A filed report is not enough if the needed corrections and communication never occur.
Basis: 29 CFR 1910.119(m)
13. Prepare for releases and know your response limits
By the end: Explain your actual alarm, reporting, protective-action and accountability duties without exceeding your role.
The employer must establish and implement an emergency action plan for the entire plant under 1910.38. The PSM plan must also include procedures for handling small releases. Learn the alarm signals, reporting method, evacuation or other assigned protective action, safe routes and accountability arrangements for the actual facility.
A release is not safe to handle just because it looks small. Chemical properties, concentration, location, available controls and the worker’s assigned role matter. Follow the employer’s evaluation and procedures for incidental releases and emergencies. Unknown conditions or a release outside your training and authority require escalation, not an improvised cleanup.
PSM employers may also be subject to HAZWOPER requirements, including emergency response under 1910.120(q), depending on their operations and response roles. This course does not provide HAZWOPER responder qualification, respirator clearance or rescue training. Employees assigned only to evacuate must not assume that a PSM score authorizes them to approach a leak or attempt containment.
Know who can initiate shutdown and who may remain for critical operations under the plan. Do not invent an equipment sequence during an event. Use the trained response, keep others from the danger area and report useful location and process information from safety. Before restart, the employer must verify the controls and required reviews rather than treating an all-clear announcement as the whole readiness decision.
Basis: 29 CFR 1910.119(n); 1910.38; applicable 1910.120 provisions
14. Verify the program, records and follow-up
By the end: Connect actual training and control evidence to the correct review interval, owner and retention duty.
A PSM compliance audit checks whether the required procedures and practices are adequate and are being followed. The employer must certify that it has evaluated compliance at least every three years. At least one person conducting the audit must know the process. A generic online completion certificate is not a PSM compliance audit.
Develop a findings report. Promptly determine and document an appropriate response to each finding, and document that deficiencies were corrected. Keep the two most recent compliance audit reports. Use evidence from the actual process, records and work conditions. A checklist full of yes answers is weak evidence when the supporting controls cannot be shown.
Keep the different schedules and records distinct. Operator refresher training is at least every three years and more often as needed. PHAs are revalidated at least every five years; PHA records and recommendation resolutions stay for the life of the process. Operating procedures need annual certification plus review as needed. Incident reports remain for five years. Change training is due before affected startup, not at the next calendar review.
Complete the employer workplace verification for this course with actual process instruction, observed understanding and remaining restrictions. Identify who owns unresolved actions and who can authorize the task. Preserve the online result as evidence of this knowledge component. It does not prove full facility compliance or replace operator, maintenance, contractor or emergency-role training.
Basis: 29 CFR 1910.119(o), (e)(7), (f)(3), (g), (m)(7)
Sources
- OSHA PSM — current rule, paragraphs (a)–(p) and Appendix A
- OSHA PSM standard
- Construction PSM cross-reference
- Emergency action plans
- Welding and cutting fire prevention
- HAZWOPER — separate role-specific requirements
Federal OSHA sources reviewed October 22, 2026. Confirm the actual work, jurisdiction and applicable additional requirements. Agency guidance supports planning; it is distinguished from mandatory standard text.