Checking processes without PIDs

[jhall at vandaliamo.net]

I have written a script to determine if processes are running.  I am
using, as an example,

ps -ax | grep -c postgrey

Ocassionally, I am receiving a notification a process is not running (and
it varies which process I receive notifications for).  And, when checking,
the process actually is running.

Is there a better way to determine if a process is running than using ps
and grep?

Thanks,



Jay