Use of failure rate databases and process safety performance measurements to improve process safety.

Employing equipment reliability databases can generate a process of continual improvement. This paper suggests a methodology that uses equipment reliability databases, and a process of benchmarking to establish a continual improvement procedure by learning "how others are doing it". A simple decision-making procedure is suggested too, to assist in prioritizing the processes/equipment that are considered to be improved as well as a methodology to measure the improvement.