Are Your Principal Hazard Management Plans Adding Value or Gathering Dust?

“We’ve got a PHMP… but no one reads it.”
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Sound familiar?

During a recent workshop with safety professionals across the mining sector, I asked a simple question: What’s the one thing about PHMPs that frustrates or confuses you most? The responses painted a clear picture. Our Principal Hazard Management Plans are often too long, too outdated, and too disconnected from risk assessment processes to be effective.

Let’s fix that.

What’s the Purpose of a PHMP, Really?

When asked to define a PHMP in a single sentence, most attendees landed on the same key points:

• It addresses hazards that could result in multiple fatalities
• It explains how principal hazards will be managed
• It often exists because legislation requires it

These are all correct, but the bigger picture is this: a PHMP should describe what we will do to manage a principal hazard, not how we will do it. That distinction is critical. When the document tries to do both, it quickly becomes bloated, duplicative, and hard to maintain.

We want PHMPs to be the hub of the safety management system, the centre of the octopus, not a description of the entire system itself.

The Problems We're Seeing in the Field

Over the years, I’ve reviewed PHMPs that range from single pages to 60-page monsters. Some are well-written but sit unused in folders no one opens. Others contradict the risk assessments they’re meant to reflect. And more often than not, no one, not even the risk owners, knows what’s in them.

This leads to:

• Critical controls being missed or misunderstood
• Duplication or contradictions across SOPs, plans, and standards
• A significant compliance risk if regulators come knocking
• Low trust in documentation from those who need it most

The solution? Right-sizing.

What Does “Right-Sizing” a PHMP Mean?

Right-sizing doesn’t mean shorter for the sake of it. It means making the PHMP:

• Clear in its purpose
• Focused only on the what
• Contextualised to your site and hazard profile
• Linked to real risk assessments (preferably bowties)
• Designed for the people who will read and use it, especially your frontline workers

It’s not a “tick and flick.” It’s a living document that anchors your critical risk system.

Why Bowtie Analysis is a Game-Changer

Bowtie analysis is the most effective tool I’ve found for underpinning a PHMP. Why?

Because it naturally:

• Clarifies the threats, consequences, and controls associated with a principal hazard
• Identifies critical controls and their failure modes
• Provides a structured, visual way to communicate the logic behind your PHMP content

In our workshop, we shared a simple mapping table that shows how each bowtie component aligns with sections of a well-structured PHMP. It’s not about compliance. It’s about clarity.

Where PHMPs Fit in Your Document Hierarchy

Your PHMP should sit above SOPs, checklists, and procedures, but below policies and corporate standards. It’s a strategic document that explains the organisation’s approach to managing a specific principal hazard, and it should link out to supporting documents that explain the how.

Think of it this way:

• A frontline supervisor doesn’t need to read your PHMP to know how to isolate equipment.
• But the Production Manager, as risk owner, absolutely should read the PHMP to understand how the site manages the geotechnical hazard holistically.

How to Right-Size Your PHMPs: 5 Practical Actions

If you suspect your PHMPs aren’t adding value, here’s what you can do today:

1. Review the structure
   Use a clear, standardised format that separates the “what” from the “how.” Eliminate redundant background or explanatory filler.
2. Clean up the content
   Remove detailed procedures from the PHMP. Instead, reference operational documents and systems already managing the “how.”
3. Ensure risk assessment alignment
   Every PHMP should be built off a specific, up-to-date risk assessment, ideally a bowtie. Make sure your review cycles match.
4. Clarify the hazard scope
   Context matters. Describe the hazard in your own operational language, explain where it applies, and link to known uncertainties or emerging risks.
5. Move technical details to appendices
   Charts, maps, long reports? Put them at the back or in linked documents. Keep the main content focused and readable.

What Happens When You Get It Right?

• Your risk owners actually read the plans
• Critical controls are clearly defined and consistently applied
• There’s no contradiction between risk assessments and operational docs
• Regulators see a mature, structured approach to managing principal hazards
• Most importantly: frontline workers are better protected from serious harm

Want Help With Your PHMPs?

As part of the workshop, I offered five organisations a complimentary PHMP review, and I’m extending that same offer here.

👉 If you’d like an expert set of eyes on your most bloated or underused PHMP, email me at admin@impresssolutions.com.au
I’ll review it, give you feedback, and point you in the right direction — all free of charge.

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Final Thoughts

Principal Hazard Management Plans don’t have to be painful. With the right tools and a structured approach, they can become a valuable part of your safety management system and a critical lever in reducing fatality risk.

You can watch a replay of this PHMP workshop below.