Vigilance With a Healthy Dose of Fear

In this Tip of the Month we will focus on HSE (Health, Safety, and Environment) issues, specifically on “Process Safety” in the Oil and Gas Industry.

Anyone working in the oil and gas industry during the last several years has probably been affected by or at the very least, heard about the “big crew change”. Whether you are in the large group of people waiting for retirement age, or a fairly new hire looking forward to a bright career, you are part of this change. Change inevitably brings challenge. And one of the big challenges is how do we transfer the knowledge and experiences from that first, experienced group to the eager but inexperienced group?

Meeting this challenge is vital in the area of process safety. While there are many technical engineering tasks that must be performed to ensure process safety, management of the system requires that all personnel involved in process safety understand their role within the process safety management (PSM) system. Performing a specified role within a system is a skill that can be learned and does not necessarily come naturally to people.

Some companies have established PSM systems to meet regulatory requirements in the countries in which they operate. There are some differences in the regulatory requirements but in general PSM systems contain the major elements found in the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) Recommended Practice 750, “Management of Process Hazards.” RP 750 contains these elements of a PSM system, Process Safety Information (PSI); Process Hazard Analysis (PHA); Management of Change (MOC); Operating Procedures; Safe Work Practices; Training; Quality and Mechanical Integrity; Pre-startup Safety Review (PSSR); Emergency Response and Control; Incident Investigation; and Audits. In addition to API, more guidance can be found through the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ (AIChE) Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS). RP 750 is a system to manage process safety, the policies and procedures established for this are similar to any systems approach to a project.

Understanding and managing the interrelationship among all these elements is generally too much for every person in an organization, so individual departments are sometimes tasked with this. But, every person in the organization plays a role in the overall management system.

As the workforce changes, experience leaves and inexperience replaces, it becomes difficult at times to perform the work required to manage the business. Personnel sometimes become so focused on individual jobs that they sometimes forget that the things they do have an impact on the system. It is therefore important to have a system in place that directs actions and ensures that all issues are addressed before changes are made that affect the processes, which produce the products being delivered.

“Preventing process accidents requires vigilance. The passing of time without a process accident is not necessarily an indication that all is well and may contribute to a dangerous and growing sense of complacency. When people lose an appreciation of how their safety systems were intended to work, safety systems and controls can deteriorate, lessons can be forgotten, and hazards and deviations from safe operating procedures can be accepted. Workers and supervisors can increasingly rely on how things were done before, rather than rely on sound engineering principles and other controls. People can forget to be afraid.” This statement from the report of The B.P. U.S. Refineries Independent Safety Review Panel, also known as the Baker Panel, provides the tip of the month: Vigilance with a healthy dose of fear.

All personnel in the organization need to be able to discuss process safety issues. In order to do this effectively, they should keep up to date on incidents, new methods and all other issues associated with process safety in the oil and gas industry. The following table provides sources of information available on the Internet that may be helpful:

This is a small sampling of the information available through the Internet to guide personnel in the philosophies, tools and techniques available for safety management systems. To stay abreast of recent events in the field, consider creating news alerts for the following: refinery fire, plant explosion, toxic release, industrial accident, workplace injury, workplace fatality. While you may receive information that is not specifically relevant to the oil and gas industry, some alerts may present a topic that is being addressed within your organization.

“The U.K. Health and Safety Executive describes safety culture as “the product of individual and group values, attitudes, competencies and patterns of behaviour that determine the commitment to, and the style and proficiency of, an organization’s health and safety programs” (HSE, 2002). The CCPS cites a similar definition of process safety culture as the “combination of group values and behaviors that determines the manner in which process safety is managed” (CCPS, 2007, citing Jones, 2001). Well-known safety culture authors James Reason and Andrew Hopkins suggest that safety culture is defined by collective practices, arguing that this is a more useful definition because it suggests a practical way to create cultural change. More succinctly, safely culture can be defined as “the way we do things around here” (CCPS, 2007; Hopkins, 2005). An organization’s safety culture can be influenced by management changes, historical events, and economic pressures.”¹

Whether you are one of those older, more experienced people or one of those inexperienced but eager newly hired people, consider how you will work within and influence the safety culture of your organization.

To learn more about process safety and HSE management systems, enroll in JMC/PetroSkills Facilities HSE courses:HS 44 and HS 45. Other HSE courses are available to develop HSE related competencies and may be found on our web site.

By: Clyde Young
Instructor/Consultant

References:

¹ U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, final report of BP Texas City explosion, March 23, 2005.