Committee for a Study of Performance-Based Safety Regulation
Many countries, including the
United States, use forms of performance-based regulation to promote safety and
reduce risk in high-hazard industries. The term “performance-based” is often
used to refer to (a) standards that mandate outcomes and give firms flexibility
in how to meet them, or (b) requirements for firms to use management systems
consisting of internal plans and practices for promoting safety and reducing
risk. Performance-based regulation is usually contrasted with
“prescriptive” regulation – sometimes called specification, design, or
technology standards – that requires firms to adopt specific means to promote
safety and reduce risks. This study will compare the advantages and
disadvantages of prescriptive- and performance-based forms of safety regulation
and identify possible opportunities for, and constraints on, making greater use
of the latter. The study will be informed by experiences of
performance-based safety regulation in the U.S. and abroad and will make
recommendations about the application of this regulatory approach in
high-hazard industries, such as off-shore oil and gas, pipelines, and other
modes of transportation.