Process safety systems for the offshore oil/gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico have taken a very different path than those of their onshore brethren. Monthly and quarterly testing of safety devices in an online mode, a prescriptive safety standard written more than 40 years ago, and a governmental agency looking over their shoulder make up what could have been a recipe for disaster, but instead it has been a recipe for an exemplary process safety record coupled with high uptimes. The differences lie in API RP 14C and ISA84 and the results to facilities in the Gulf of Mexico and onshore facilities. The differences are also why their system has worked. - Mike Boudreaux from Bookmarklet