“If you don’t have time to do it right, you definitely don’t have time for the consequences.”

When plants upgrade a line, tweak a recipe, swap a valve, or come back from year-end shutdowns, the pressure to hit production targets is real. But nothing torpedoes workplace safety (and uptime) faster than a rushed restart. That’s exactly why the Pre-Startup Safety Review (PSSR) exists: a formal, documented pause to verify that equipment, people, and procedures are truly ready before energy and materials flow.

This guide explains what PSSR is, when you must run it, and a step-by-step PSSR checklist you can put to work today. We’ll also connect PSSR to Management of Change (MOC) and outline how a digital workflow keeps your startup safety procedures tight—even when the calendar isn’t.

What is PSSR—and when does it apply?

A Pre-Startup Safety Review is a structured verification conducted before starting new or modified equipment, processes, or facilities. It confirms four big things are true:

1. Design & installation match intent (drawings, specs, interlocks, relief devices).
2. Procedures exist and are current (startup, shutdown, emergency, and normal ops).
3. People are ready (training done, qualifications current, roles clear).
4. Risks are controlled (MOC actions closed, safeguards tested, permits in order).

Run a PSSR whenever you’re commissioning new equipment, after significant process changes, following turnaround/overhaul work, or when a dormant unit is brought back to life. In many jurisdictions and industry standards, PSSR for covered processes isn’t just best practice—it’s expected. Either way, it’s table stakes for workplace safety and reliability.

Why PSSR matters (yes, even when you’re “just” swapping a valve)

Most incidents during start-ups come from tiny mismatches: a blind flange left in, a bypass not removed, a control loop inverted, a relief path blocked, a line mis-labeled. Individually small, collectively high-consequence. PSSR is your last defensive layer to catch these before they become headlines. It protects people, equipment, and schedule—because nothing kills throughput like a preventable trip, fire, or injury on day one.

A practical PSSR checklist (use as-is or tailor it)

A. Scope & prerequisites

• Define what’s changing: equipment IDs, P&IDs, software revs, setpoints, recipes.
• Confirm MOC exists for the change and the current PSSR references it.
• Verify all MOC actions are closed or explicitly deferred with risk controls.

B. Mechanical completion & integrity

• Walkdown against P&IDs/GA: correct materials, line up, tag numbers, flow direction.
• Flange management complete; blinds/spades removed or documented if required.
• Pressure tests, NDT, torque, and leak checks done and recorded.
• Relief devices installed, sized, set, and documented; discharge paths clear.

C. Controls, alarms & interlocks

• I/O point-to-point checks complete; ranges and units verified.
• Safety instrumented functions (SIFs) tested end-to-end; proof tests recorded.
• Alarm rationalization applied; suppression/override lists clean; bypasses removed.
• Trip setpoints approved; permissives and interlocks proven in the field and DCS.

D. Utilities, safeguards & emergency systems

• Inerting/blanketing, purge lines, and vent systems operational.
• Fire & gas detection, extinguishers, deluge/sprinklers, and eyewash/showers in service.
• E-stops tested; emergency lighting and egress routes clear and signed.

E. Procedures & documentation

• Startup, normal operations, and shutdown procedures updated and accessible.
• P&IDs, cause-and-effect charts, loop sheets, and one-point lessons current.
• Permit-to-Work interfaces clear (hot work, confined space, line break, energized work).

F. People, training & handover

• Operators briefed on changes; competency verified (sign-off or quick quiz).
• Maintenance and contractor teams aligned on boundaries and escalation.
• Shift handover plan locked; control room staffing adequate for commissioning.

G. Pre-startup risk review (go/no-go)

• Team walkdown to challenge “what could bite us in the first hour?”
• Validate safeguards for credible scenarios (over-pressure, reverse flow, misrouting).
• Decide: Go / Go with conditions / No-go—document the rationale.

H. Approval to start

• Named approvers (Ops, Maintenance, Safety, Engineering) sign the PSSR.
• Record any temporary controls (e.g., additional monitoring) with expiry dates.
• Log the planned startup stages: dry run → cold commissioning → hot commissioning.

This scaffold is intentionally practical: it catches the failure modes that most often sneak through when workplace safety is not given that final, disciplined look.

PSSR and MOC: same book, final chapter

Think of MOC as the story of the change—risk assessed, actions assigned, drawings updated. PSSR is the epilogue that confirms the plot holes are closed before you publish. If an MOC note says “update alarm setpoint to 3.5 bar,” PSSR checks the controller tag, confirms the setpoint and range, and proves the trip logic. If MOC required training, PSSR verifies the roster. The outcome: workplace safety controls that exist on paper actually exist on the plant.

Roles & responsibilities (no hot-potato here)

• Operations: Owns procedures, operator readiness, and the final “go” in the room.
• Engineering: Verifies design intent, drawings, and instrument/safeguard logic.
• Maintenance: Confirms mechanical completion, torque, tests, and isolation removal.
• Safety/EHS: Facilitates the review, challenges assumptions, records proof, and ensures startup safety procedures match risk.
• Management: Sets the rule: “No PSSR, no start.” Then backs the team when timelines push.

When everyone knows their lane, PSSR is fast, focused, and adds real protection without bloat—a hallmark of mature workplace safety culture.

Common pitfalls (and how to dodge them)

• Paper compliance: Signatures with no field evidence. Fix: photo proofs, instrument reports, and checklists with accountable names.
• Bypass amnesia: Temporary overrides linger past startup. Fix: a bypass register with owner, reason, and expiry; PSSR verifies “zero bypass” unless justified.
• Stale drawings: Operators commissioning against outdated P&IDs. Fix: link PSSR to document control; if drawings aren’t updated, you’re not ready.
• Training gaps: Night shift left out of the loop. Fix: require all shifts to acknowledge the change brief before startup.
• MOC drift: Open actions quietly deferred. Fix: PSSR gate fails if critical MOC tasks are open—period.

These are the frictions that derail workplace safety in the first hour. Treat them as non-negotiables.

Documentation: what “good” looks like

A defensible PSSR file includes: scope definition; the completed checklist with evidence; calibration/proof-test and pressure-test records; updated P&IDs/loop sheets; training rosters; the go/no-go decision with any conditions; and the formal Approval to Start. Bonus points for a short lessons-learned note after hot commissioning—future-you will thank you.

Make “No PSSR, No Start” your standard—and make it easy with OQSHA

Restarts will always be busy. That’s exactly when workplace safety needs a calm, repeatable system that forces the right conversations, at the right time, with the right proof. A disciplined Pre-Startup Safety Review does that. It closes the loop between intent and reality, turning near-misses into non-events and fragile starts into predictable ones.

If you want the rigor without the paper chase, OQSHA’s digital PSSR ties it all together:

• Linked MOC → PSSR: Carry forward hazards and actions; block startup if critical items remain.
• Smart checklists: Role-based steps with photo/video evidence, e-signatures, and time-stamps.
• Bypass register & proof tests: Track overrides, interlock tests, alarm setpoints—verify before go-live.
• Document control: Attach the latest P&IDs, loop sheets, and procedures right in the review.
• Action tracker: Any PSSR “no” becomes a CAPA with owners, due dates, and escalations.

Bottom line: OQSHA helps you make “No PSSR, No Start” more than a slogan—it becomes how you run workplace safety every single time you restart.