Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) Practice Exam

Which safety approach is evaluated through the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) methodology?

1. Occupational health management

2. Process safety management

3. Environmental risk assessment

4. Workplace safety audits

The correct answer is: Process safety management

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a systematic methodology used to evaluate processes, products, or systems to identify potential failures and their causes. The primary aim of FMEA is to prioritize the risks associated with these failures based on their severity, frequency, and detectability, which aligns closely with the principles of process safety management. Process safety management focuses on identifying and managing the hazards associated with industrial processes, particularly in environments where failures could lead to catastrophic consequences, such as chemical plants or manufacturing facilities. FMEA is a critical tool within this domain as it provides a structured approach for analyzing potential failure modes and helps organizations in designing safer processes. In contrast, the other safety approaches involve different focus areas. Occupational health management primarily addresses employee health risks, environmental risk assessment concentrates on the impact of operations on the environment, and workplace safety audits evaluate compliance with safety regulations and standards. While all these areas are essential to overall workplace safety, FMEA’s specific application to identifying and mitigating risks in operational processes makes it a key component of process safety management.