A number of economic factors have collided recently: the step drop in the price of oil, uncertainty in the United States and global economies, and mixed signals from economic and political leaders of many countries. All of these conditions have placed companies, especially those affected by oil prices under difficult economic stress. Companies are taking radical actions to, reduce capital and operational spending and in general, reduce cost. These economic pressures can be onerous on all areas of a business, but especially on the production floor‐level operations. Cost‐cutting dicta come from the executive levels, demanding a significant reduction in operating expenses or capital expenditures even when production levels are stable or increasing. While all areas of a company feel the impacts, key process safety impacts are felt on the shop floor; by the exact people, process safety is meant to protect, the operators, maintenance personnel and their supervisors. During these times of extreme economic pressure, it is imperative that process safety systems are not allowed to lose effectiveness. This article is intended to serve as a reminder of some impacts of cost cutting and to present tools to combat the loss of process safety effectiveness.

中文翻译：

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在经济困难时期管理过程安全

近期一系列经济因素相互碰撞：石油价格逐步下跌，美国和全球经济的不确定性，以及多国经济和政治领导人的混合信号。所有这些情况都使公司，尤其是那些受油价影响的公司面临艰难的经济压力。公司正在采取激进的行动来减少资本和运营支出，并总体上降低成本。这些经济压力对业务的所有领域都可能是沉重的，尤其是在生产层面的运营中。削减成本的口号来自高管层，要求即使在生产水平稳定或增加的情况下，也要大幅降低运营费用或资本支出。虽然公司的所有领域都感受到了影响，但关键的过程安全影响却体现在车间；确切地说，过程安全旨在保护操作员、维护人员及其主管。在这些极端经济压力时期，必须确保过程安全系统不能失去效力。这篇文章旨在提醒人们注意削减成本的一些影响，并展示应对过程安全有效性损失的工具。