Practical Guide to Operationalize & Visualize Cumulative Process Safety Risks-Perspective from Field & O&G Majors

Despite the continuing global economic challenges faced by the energy and chemical process industries, PTT Public Company Limited (PTT Group, the largest Thailand organisation and a Fortune 500 company) has launched enterprise wide initiatives aimed at ensuring sustainable growth beyond 2020. A key focus is ‘improving operational effectiveness’ by strengthening the foundation in process safety management (PSM).

To deliver the corporate vision of ‘PSM – Towards Zero’, PTT Group has been developing and implementing a multi-year barrier management programme to deliver assurance to stakeholders (from management to front line personnel) that the organisation has in place effective operational controls to ensure its major operational safety risks are acceptable. This was a challenge for an organisation that operates more than 50 sites (and 20,000 personnel) with a value chain covering gas production, LNG, petrochemical, refineries, storage, distribution as well as power generation facilities. It was also unique in that the PTT Group has grown both organically and through acquisitions that required careful consideration of differing business unit cultures and their approaches to risk management.

This case study provides insights on PTT Group approach in developing this barrier management programme focused upon operational major hazard risks. This included project framing (over 12 months) to establish a lifecycle strategy and philosophy, the need to deliver a measured and uniform approach (and adapting CCPS bowtie best practices) for operational bowties with piloting at PTT Group flagship facilities (over 24 months).

The paper will also share lessons learnt such as requirement for a common bowtie platform and risk profile oversight, interfacing to production and integrity management systems, developing competencies and a specific training program (using adult learning concepts) to sustain bowtie champions, importance of continued PTT Group leadership commitment and stakeholder engagement.

The paper highlights some early successes namely engagement of frontline in dialogue to discuss with a deeper understanding of major hazard controls and the realisation that operating risk ranked as ‘acceptable’ is a flawed concept if these controls are not functional or effective. Finally, PTT Group next steps on the barrier management journey are outlined.