Book excerpt: Performance Management for the Oil, Gas, and Process Industries: A Systems Approach is a practical guide on the business cycle and techniques to undertake step, episodic, and breakthrough improvement in performance to optimize operating costs. Like many industries, the oil, gas, and process industries are coming under increasing pressure to cut costs due to ongoing construction of larger, more integrated units, as well as the application of increasingly stringent environmental policies. Focusing on the 'value adder' or 'revenue generator' core system and the company direction statement, this book describes a systems approach which assures significant sustainable improvements in the business and operational performance specific to the oil, gas, and process industries. The book will enable the reader to: utilize best practice principles of good governance for long term performance enhancement; identify the most significant performance indicators for overall business improvement; apply strategies to ensure that targets are met in agreed upon time frames. - Describes a systems approach which assures significant sustainable improvements in the business and operational performance specific to the oil, gas, and process industries - Helps readers set appropriate and realistic short-term/ long-term targets with a pre-built facility health checker - Elucidates the relationship between PSM, OHS, and Asset Integrity with an increased emphasis on behavior-based safety - Discusses specific oil and gas industry issues and examples such as refinery and gas plant performance initiatives and hydrocarbon accounting