Health and Safety Executive

Health and Safety Executive

Prevention of Major Hazards

Kevin MyersDeputy Chief Executive

Health and Safety Executive, UK

Implementing Occupational Safety And Health Standards Globally

The Role of Labour Inspection, Social Partners, Social Security, Practitioners and Non-State Actors

International ILO Conference

Düsseldorf, Germany, 3-6 November 2009

Coverage of Presentation

• Lessons learnt from major incidents and HSE interventions

• Importance of understanding and maintaining barriers of protection and development of relevant Performance Indicators

• Critical importance of:– Board level leadership– Process safety management

Regulating UK Major Hazards sector

• Over 1,200 sites onshore

• Around 300 offshore oil and gas installations

• Permissioning/Safety Case regimes

• Those that create risks are responsible for their management and control

• Regulators job is to influence companies to ensure they effectively manage and properly control the risks they create

• Heat and Light

Incidents, events and inspections

• BP Grangemouth refinery, 2001– (www.hse.gov.uk/comah/bpgrange/contents.htm)

• ConocoPhillips Refinery, 2001– (www.hse.gov.uk/comah/conocophillips.pdf)

• BNG THORP Plant, Sellafield, 2005– (www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/thorp.htm)

• Buncefield, 2005– (www.buncefieldinvestigation.gov.uk)

• BP Texas City refinery, 2005– (www.chemsafety.gov/…..)

• Offshore asset integrity report, 2007– (www.hse.gov/offshore/kp3.pdf)

Baker Panel’s opening statement

• “…no illusion that deficiencies in process safety culture, management or corporate oversight are limited to BP. Other companies……..

• “..urge .. companies to regularly and thoroughly evaluate their safety culture, the performance of their process safety management systems and their corporate safety oversight for possible improvements.”

Why?

• Focus on what can be easily measured?

• Loss of corporate memory?

• Lack of understanding of barriers, process safety issues at a senior level

• Devaluing Engineering?

• Cognitive dissonance?

• Lack of a learning culture?

• Tactical not Strategic focus?

• Fragmentation of functions?

• Increased divestment/contractorisation?

Lessons learned – 7 key elements

• Leadership

A Mission Statement

• Responsibility to conduct (ourselves) according to certain basic tenets of human behaviour that transcend industries, cultures, economics, and local, regional and national boundaries

• We treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves……

• We work with customers and prospects openly, honestly and sincerely

• We are satisfied with nothing less than the very best in everything we do. We will continue to raise the bar for everyone. The great fun here will be for all of us to

discover just how good we can really be.

Lessons learned – 7 key elements

• Leadership

• Process Safety Management

• Real and dynamic risk assessment

• Robust management of change

• Sustainability

• Well trained and competent people

• A learning organisation

Incident

RealityIdeal

Hazard

Swiss Cheese Model of Defence

Health and Safety Executive

Health and Safety Executive

Incident

Hazard

Process safety indicators

• What can go wrong?

• Where within the facility will these challenges to integrity be most critical?

• What systems are in place to manage those challenges?

• What does success look like?

• What are the critical activities which must work right to deliver the intended outcome?

HSE publication HSG254