Page 8 - CCPS Monograph - Refletions of Global Process Safety Leaders

Fred Henselwood – Process Leader, NOVA Chemicals:

Process Safety Culture:

When I think about culture, I break it down to three subcategories; First is emotions ‐ what is that
sense of vulnerability of chronic unease that we carry with us, naturally that driver for us to do
what we need to do. Second is discipline ‐ are we compliant with our programs, are we predictable,
are we doing what is expected. Think of the saying: “What do you do when no one is watching?”
Third is voice ‐ are we thoughtful, are we aware of the hazards, are we thinking our way through
things, are we making sure we get the right information to the right people.

When I look at emotions, discipline, and voice, active communication has been really important.
That includes the leadership in the broader community within the organization and also making
sure that we are getting information about process safety out to our community. We are talking
about issues, we are challenging the organization about how they are thinking about things. In the
discipline space, they talk about how it takes 6 weeks to form a habit and we are here at week
number 8 working from home. As we go through this period of working with the equivalent of
holiday staffing levels, we ask the questions: Are we taking any shortcuts? Are we normalizing any
behaviors? Then maybe we should challenge the organization about normalization of deviation, if
we see something that doesn’t look right. With reduced presence on site, how do we do that
remotely? Working without the leadership community onsite, what are the words to listen for in a
conversation? What are questions to ask to really understand? Have we unconsciously taken on
risk by doing something a little different? Emotion helps create that sense of vulnerability.

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