Survey reveals urgent gaps in process safety management

A decade-long global survey of process safety professionals, conducted by Sphera, has revealed that safety-related challenges in high-hazard industries are not only persisting but intensifying. The findings, released in Sphera’s 10th annual Process Safety Management Survey, highlight growing concerns around aging facilities, workforce turnover, and the urgent need for technology-driven solutions.

Persistent and evolving challenges

Sphera’s survey, which gathered insights from 300 process safety professionals across six countries, including Canada, paints a picture of an industry grappling with both familiar and emerging issues. While some challenges—like aging assets and workforce—have been on the radar for years, the data shows these problems are far from resolved.

“A lot of respondents still cite [aging facilities and workforce] as one of their core concerns,” said Iain Mackay, senior vice president for process safety management at Sphera. “As experienced workforce leaves a high hazard industry or environment, a lot of experience does walk out the door. What is that experience being replaced with?”

The survey also found that organizations are increasingly relying on contractors to fill the gaps left by retiring employees. However, this shift brings its own risks. Contractors may not always share the same core values or possess the deep facility knowledge of long-term employees, raising concerns about hazard recognition and safety culture.

Flatlining safety performance

Despite advances in reporting and monitoring, the survey indicates that safety performance metrics are stagnating. “Incidents and accidents just keep happening,” Mackay noted. “A lot of organizations are reporting incident rates and the like nowadays all the way to process safety events as well. And a lot of that data is flatlining.”

One of the most striking findings is the rise in organizations struggling with training and competence. This year, 50% of respondents reported challenges in this area, up from 41% the previous year. Frontline engagement is also becoming a major concern, with 36% citing it as a challenge—an almost 50% increase from last year.

Communication conundrum

While technology has made it easier than ever to communicate, Mackay points out that the real challenge is ensuring safety messages resonate with frontline workers. “We’re not short of pushing messages out—we’re short of these messages landing with some kind of resonance and effectiveness,” he explained.

The survey underscores a critical gap: organizations have vast amounts of incident data but often struggle to apply these lessons to daily operations. “There’s a shortage of the ability to apply the data to what you’re doing today,” Mackay said. “A lot of organizations have repeat incidents. Some organizations don’t know that it’s a repeat.”

Technology as an enabler

One of the survey’s most forward-looking findings is the growing role of digital tools and artificial intelligence in process safety. As new generations enter the workforce, there is an expectation that technology will be integrated into safety processes. Yet, many organizations still rely on manual, paper-based systems for critical tasks like permit to work.

Mackay believes that embracing technology is not just about efficiency, but about capturing and transferring the hard-won experience of veteran workers. “Any organization that has implemented a business process orchestrated workflow solution that helps people identify hazards, to manage risks, to interlock lockout, tagout isolations in a technology-driven way, they are going to get so much more benefit,” he said. “People don’t have to think what the next step in the process is. The technology is there to tell you, to keep you on track.”

For health and safety leaders, the message from Sphera’s survey is clear: the status quo is not enough. The industry must confront its reluctance to change and actively seek out new ways to bridge the gap between policy and practice.