MAPP and Safety Management

The Major Accident Prevention Policy (MAPP) document

All operators are required to prepare a major accident prevention policy (MAPP) document and submit it to the Authority. The MAPP must be reviewed, and when necessary updated, at least every 5 years. All updates must be submitted to the Authority without delay.

For operators of upper-tier establishments, the MAPP will form part of the safety report. Guidance for operators of lower tier establishments is set out in the next section.

The MAPP must:

• be designed to guarantee a high level of protection of human health and the environment
• include the operator’s overall aims and principles of action and a commitment to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment
• include the role and responsibility of management in ensuring its proper implementation
• include a commitment towards continuously improving the control of major accident hazards
• take account of the principles specified in Schedule 2 to the Regulations

An operator must properly implement the MAPP by appropriate means, structures and a safety management system (or by other appropriate means, structures, and management systems in the case of a lower tier establishment), in accordance with the second Schedule to the Regulations. These should be proportionate to the major accident hazards and the complexity of the organisation or the activities.

MAPP document for operators of lower-tier COMAH establishments

Under the COMAH Regulations 2015 you must prepare and submit a document to the Central Competent Authority (CCA) that sets out your major accident prevention policy. A guidance note on writing your MAPP document has been prepared by the Authority. The CCA will assess each MAPP document and the assessing inspector will make a judgement on proportionality when carrying out the initial assessment of the MAPP.

MAPP Guidance note for lower-tier operators

Timelines for submission of COMAH documentation