Employee health and safety continues to be an area of great importance to employers. Safety concerns are especially heightened for industrial facilities (often referred to as “industrial worksites”, “industrial plants” or simply “plants”). Industrial facilities include, for example, oil and gas plants, power plants, and the like. Industrial facilities can be complex systems that include large machinery, electrical systems, flow control systems, and the like. Large machinery can include, for example, turbomachinery, such as turbines, generators and compressors with components rotating at extremely high rates. Electrical systems can include, for example, power systems that generate, regulate and transport high-voltage and high-current electrical power. Flow control systems can include, for example, flow control mechanisms, such as valves, pressure vessels and pipes that regulate the flow of substances, such as oil and natural gas, at varying temperatures and pressures. Given their complexity, industrial facilities typically employ safety devices and safety procedures to minimize the risk of safety incidents, such as physical injuries to persons, damage to the environment and damage to the industrial facility itself.
An industrial facility often employs a process control system (PCS) and an industrial safety system (ISS). These systems are normally integrated with one another and are often referred to collectively as an integrated control and safety system (ICSS). The PCS typically monitors and controls the operations of the industrial facility systems to execute day-to-day operations of the facility, such as the processing of oil and natural gas. The ISS typically oversees the safety of the industrial facility, such as monitoring physical systems and taking actions to protect persons, the industrial facility systems and the environment. These actions can include, for example, activating safety systems, deactivating malfunctioning equipment, issuing alerts and the like.