An insightful Ian Sutton, in Process Safety Management, states, "The topic of mechanical integrity is a very broad one. In spite of the fact that the title contains the word 'mechanical,' it covers much more than mechanical engineering issues." The element requires input from a wide range of engineering, maintenance, process safety, and reliability disciplines. [4] Good mechanical integrity programs are usually very resource intensive to develop and represent an ongoing expense to maintain. Although the law has been in effect for nearly a decade, some organizations are still struggling to develop specific mechanical integrity programs or are redeveloping their programs.

Mechanical integrity programs are "site specific." OSHA defines the requirements of this element of the Process Safety Management Law in about 350 words and yet, for most companies, many years of engineering and maintenance work have been consumed trying to properly define and achieve the requirements. The procedures ought to be tailored to the size of the facility, the management structure, the specific chemical processes, the specific equipment, as well as the engineering and maintenance resources. Some organizations have in-house specialists such as certified safety relief valve technicians, qualified metals inspectors, and experienced vibration technicians, and other facilities rely on the part-time services of contractors.