Process safety culture

Subsequent to serious incidents at the BP Texas City refinery in the US and the Buncefield storage terminal in the UK (both in 2005), a number of major hazard regulators are turning their attention to the role of process safety leadership within organisations in preventing major accident events. NOPSEMA also strongly supports the view that top level commitment and leadership make a difference to securing the positive process safety cultures which are important if major accident events (MAEs) are to be prevented.

NOPSA Process Safety Culture Surveys

Safety leadership in the prevention of Major Accident Events

As part of the planned inspection process, NOPSA surveyed Operators to raise awareness of the merits of process safety leadership and culture.

NOPSA’s promotion of Process Safety Leadership and Culture included conducting two surveys; one tailored to the offshore workforce and one for senior management.

Offshore Process Safety Culture Survey
The first survey, called Offshore Process Safety Culture, was designed to be completed by workers on offshore facilities to introduce or reinforce the concept and importance of process safety culture in the workplace. The survey was confidential and you could remain anonymous as no personal information was requested. Where applicable, the results of the survey were used to alert the Operator of the facility to any significant shortcomings. The survey questionnaire was largely the same as the Process Safety Culture Survey which was completed by attendees of the 2009 HSR Forum in Perth. This survey was initially conducted by BP at the direction of the Baker Panel Inquiry into the 2005 Texas City disaster.

Onshore Process Safety Leadership Principles Survey
The second survey was an Onshore Process Safety Leadership Principles Survey designed to gauge the Operator’s organisational structure and behaviour in relation to Process Safety Leadership. This survey was designed to be completed by the organisation’s CEO or the most senior person responsible for offshore operations. The survey questions were adapted from the Process Safety Leadership Principles and Arrangements document which the UK’s Process Safety Leadership Group has committed to establishing in each process-related business. The results from this survey enabled companies to assess their positions relative to these accepted principles and to compare the company with their peers in the Australian offshore industry.

Information Booklet - Process Safety Leadership
An Information Booklet on Process Safety Leadership is available for more information.

Results
Preliminary results for the Process Safety Culture Survey are contained in the 2010 Offshore Industry Performance Report (page 23).

Contact
For more information on the Process Safety Leadership in Major Accident Event Prevention promotion, please contact:
Ian MacGillivray - Program Leader
08 6461 7018
Ian.MacGillivray@nopsema.gov.au