Modelling safety-critical organisational processes using the agent relationship morphism methodology (ARMA)

Business process redesign (BPR) has its roots in the manufacturing industries. In manufacturing, the emphasis is usually on the description of the flow of material through manufacturing processes. More recently, BPR has been taken into consideration by the management accounting and information systems development community. Each one of these communities has focused on different aspects of BPR, with its own weaknesses and strengths. Lately, BPR methodologies based on organisational theory have started emerging. The need of process modelling and redesign has also been identified in safety-critical situations. Petrochemical plants have inherent economic and personal risks associated with their operation. It is therefore in the interests of the plant owner to apply best practices to ensure safe and cost-effective plant operation, and it is in the public interest to encourage this. In this paper, we present the agent relationship morphism methodology (ARMA) and its application to the safety-critical area of permit management in the oil industry.<>