Subcontracting Safety (Cases)

Companies operating high-hazard installations in the process industry call upon consultants to provide safety-related expertise. They do so voluntarily but also in specific regulatory contexts which require operating companies to assess risks and establish a safety case, a structured evidence-based demonstration that the facility will not generate unacceptable risks for society. Consulting companies have different strategies and compete to gain access to contracts, which are selected according to criteria such as costs, technical propositions, trust or reputation. This creates a specific market. National regulators play a key role in setting the level of expectation regarding safety cases, by among other things, requiring the use of a third-party expert. These preliminary outcomes show the importance of situating and understanding the contribution of these private actors in process safety regulation and governance as another facet of subcontracting in relation to safety.