What a PSSR reviews
A pre-startup safety review checks that a facility is ready to begin operating under its intended conditions. It is used at the end of new projects or significant modifications. Its purpose is to identify outstanding issues before hazardous substances or process energy are introduced, while a deficiency can still be resolved without exposing the installation to normal operation.
Related concept: Change management in OSH.
What must be ready
The review compares construction with the approved design and confirms the availability of operating, maintenance and emergency procedures. It also checks training, equipment identification and required tests. A planned document is not enough: it must be available and suitable for the configuration actually installed.
Recommendations from risk analyses require explicit treatment. Some may prevent startup; others may allow properly justified management afterwards. Their classification must not depend solely on the delay caused by resolving them.
Relationship with management of change
Management of change examines impacts and authorises the modification; the PSSR checks final readiness before use. These are related but different stages. If a specification changes during construction, the team must check whether the deviation has been assessed and accepted.
Interfaces between systems must also be resolved: electrical supplies, utilities, drainage, control, detection and emergency communications. A completed unit may depend on another that is not yet available.
Recording the result
A useful record identifies the scope, participants, evidence reviewed, deficiencies, owners and startup decision. The checklist is adapted to the project; it must not become a sequence of affirmative boxes without verification.
Temporary restrictions need to be communicated to operations and maintenance. It must be clear who authorises startup and which conditions must be met, avoiding ambiguous authorisations spread across several departments.
Hypothetical example
After a transfer system is extended, the review finds that the identification of two valves does not match the procedure. The team withholds release, verifies the circuit, corrects drawings and documentation, and checks the operation again. The PSSR does not replace project testing, but it checks that the results have been incorporated before use.
Framework and limitations
OSHA includes this review in its process-safety regulation for installations within its scope. Application in other settings must follow the corresponding obligations and procedures. It is not a universal licence and does not establish future safety by itself: inspection, maintenance and change control continue after startup.
