While the process safety principles, Conduct of Operations, Operational Discipline, and Operational Readiness, have been a part of risk-based process safety since its inception, recognizing the need for a formal management system connecting them and optimizing their value is a more recent concept introduced around 2010 with Walk the Line.
Conduct of Operations is concerned with how work is done in a manufacturing unit to produce consistent results. The philosophy behind Walk the Line is that to produce consistent results successfully, there are elements of leadership identifying the right tools, operators executing tasks correctly, and technical people monitoring results and changing the tools for continuous improvement. Each of these disciplines, management, operational, and engineering, should be in place to ensure consistent performance and repeatable results. This discussion reflects on the last ten years of Walk the Line and highlights features of the conduct of operations model that support a sustainable management system, continuous improvement, and reduction of process safety incidents.