Process Safety: At the Heart of Operations

Process Safety is no longer a supporting function but core business in any organization that operates high risk facilities. To ensure a safe and reliable operations, Process Safety has to underpin an organization’s activities, from strategic decision at corporate level to day to day operations at site. This presentation specifically focuses on PS essentials for Operating manager at site level, addressing following issues: 1> Key success factors for a well-functioning process safety program and how to tell if the program is ‘working’, 2> Aspects of process safety which need the most attention and resources from operating managers, 3> Methods to effectively communicate the most important aspects of process safety to operating managers, front line supervisors and hands-on employees  

About the author:  12 years experience in the Oil and Gas industry with the last 8 years embedded in different BP Operations as Process Safety adviser

Key success factors for a well functioning PS program:

Commitment from site leaders

• PS is in leader’s agenda
• PS is part of performance contract and rewarding program
• Leader to set role model for PS

Organisation’s process safety capability

• PS processes in place
• A set of Process Safety KPI’s that help site leader to drive PS performance
• A tool to communicate to front line workers
• Audits for compliance

How to tell if the program is working

• KPI’s trending in the right direction:
  • Reduction in lagging indicators
  • Improvement in leading indicators
• Level of engagement of organisation

Aspects of process safety which need the most attention and resources from operating managers

• CoW
• Operating procedure
• Emergency response
• Incident/ Near miss and Process upset reporting
• Hazard evaluation and Risk assessment
• Competency

Methods to effectively communicate the most important aspects of process safety to operating managers, front line supervisors and hands-on employees

• Process Safety meeting
• Process safety report
• Process safety metrics
• Involvement in PS program: audits/ coaching/ intervention etc….
• Process Safety Poster/ scorecard