Abnormal situation management: a major US programme to improve management of abnormal situations

In 1991, Honeywell established an abnormal situation management (ASM) program involving participation of several petrochemical customers with operations in the continental USA (including companies that are not US-owned). The ASM consortium supports a number of activities and is partially funded by the US government as a research consortium. The consortium has two major activities: assessment audits of operating plants; and the development of a software-based diagnostic system-AEGIS. These two activities are briefly reviewed.