HAZOP analysis is a process hazard analysis method that has been widely applied both within and outside the chemical processing industries. This paper presents a design method for a process safety data management program for petrochemical plants based on HAZOP analysis and demonstrates the steps of application involved in building a process safety data management system for an ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol production plant. Firstly, the production data files and relevant documents of the plants should be classified and stored in the program database as reference documents and treatment schemes for coping with abnormal situations should be collected and summarized as guidance documents. Secondly, the HAZOP analysis method is employed to identify all the dangerous deviations possibly existing in the production process of the ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol plant. Then, the relationships among the deviations, the reference documents and the guidance documents should be considered and evaluated. Finally, each dangerous deviation will be given a corresponding reference document and guidance document. The reference documents and guidance documents stored in the expert system can be utilized to help operators solve the corresponding technical problems and cope with abnormal situations. The process safety data management program will contribute to the identification, analysis and resolution of operation problems. When an abnormal situation occurs, according to the deviations exhibited in the system, the necessary reference documents and guidance documents will be quickly consulted by the operators, and an appropriate decision will be made to address the abnormal situation. Therefore, by using the process safety data management program, plant security and human safety in the petrochemical industries will be improved. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.