Optimizing and balancing operational manning levels and SHEQ within chemical companies

Many chemical organizations are struggling with efficiently optimizing their operational manning levels due to a lack of management insights in the subject. However, manning levels not reflecting real circumstances and not taking into account various possible accident scenarios can be financially adversarial and can even lead to (minor and major) accidents. This paper suggests a performance-based methodology to assist chemical plants in their efforts to systematically improve operational manning levels. By integrating manning level standards with the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle of continuous improvement and providing a generic action plan for any organization to elaborate an efficient means of improving manning level performance, operational manning levels can be advanced without having to undergo a costly and inefficient trial-and-error phase.