Page 174 - CW E-Magazine (24-12-2024)

8th Global Summit on Process Safety 8th Global Summit on Process Safety

PROCESS SAFETY an average of fi ve fatal process safety Industries Ltd., observed that effective
incidents per year. “This is not a low leadership is not about compliance but
Increased complexity of operations and greater societal scrutiny probability, and in many others, we just a commitment to build a strong operat-
got lucky, and an adverse impact did ing culture incorporating safety. “The
make process safety management even more important not occur.” greatest risk to process safety is think-
ing it won’t happen to us. Root causes
rocess safety focuses on the An effective PSM system can not Dwelling on the Bhopal gas tragedy, ‘Systems need to be robust, but simple’ have not changed over the years.”
control of hazards and risks only help avoid incidents; it is key to 40 years ago, caused by the leakage of Mr. Sanjiv Singh, Head – Group
Passociated with highly hazardous ensuring effi cient, reliable and robust methyl isocyanate (MIC), an interme- Manufacturing Services, Reliance Mr. Kadri noted that leaders are not
processes. These processes involve operations. Process safety events are diate in a pesticide manufacturing pro- Industries Ltd., noted that the petro- becoming confi dence builders. “Many
chemicals, where process incidents or low frequency but high consequences cess, which need not have been stored, leum, refi ning and petrochemical leaders are not knowledgeable and are
failures may result in fatalities, injuries, events. Many organisations may not Mr. Surana wondered “whether conve- industries are seeing a sea change in the playing on the surface.”
exposures, fi res, explosions, chemical experience such events and hence may nience is taking precedence over need?” Mr. Shakeel Kadri way plants are designed and operated.
releases, spills, structural collapses, not focus on process safety improve- of operations; not permitting employees to Stressing the need to build plants right, Reasons for incidents
equipment malfunctions, and other ment, even if they do understand the While formalised learnings are now speak freely of their safety concerns; with emphasis on systems and proce- According to Mr. Kadri, one of the
consequences. hazards of the process. available on process safety, Mr. Surana and failure to learn and apply learnings. dures for safe operations, he noted that major reasons for process safety events
cautioned that these will not lead us even as the industry moves towards is asset integrity, which needs to signi-
Process safety management (PSM) According to Mr. Mukesh Kumar to zero incidents. “New processes are “There is nothing is more important machine-driven operations “there will fi cantly improvement – especially piping
refers to the integrated management of Surana, Ex Chairman & Managing more complex – using extreme condi- than safety – not production, sales or still be times when human interventions and interlocks.
interrelated activities required to man- Director, Hindustan Petroleum Corpora- tions of operations, increased automa- profi ts. CEO is the Chief Safety Offi cer,” will be needed.”“Systems need to be
age process safety risks. It involves tion Ltd., the importance of PSMcannot tion, and complex machinery. Efforts Mr. Kadri quipped, noting that the robust but still remain simple.” Another reason is the lack of trans-
the use of systems and principles to be overstressed. “Industrial processes of man-machine interface needs to be value of a human life value is the same parent communication between leaders
continuously identify hazards, assess are more complex than ever before, and signifi cantly improved, and there is a everywhere. “Risk is not zero – but it ‘Psychological safety important to who are directing to do the right thing
risks, and control hazards associated there is increased public awareness of need to proactively determine what can can be minimized. Leaders must com- get to the answers needed’ and leaders who are doing things
with high-risk processes. PSM is also what we do in the industry,” he cau- go wrong and mitigate the impacts.” mit to identify and minimize hazards Mr. Stephen Klejs, Executive right. “Leaders are not celebrating the
important for responding to and recover- tioned while speaking at the inaugural and risks or get out of the business. Director, US Chemical Safety & Hazard ‘reds’(adverse events) and challenging
ing from process-related incidents. session of the ‘8th Global Summit on He also stated that progressive risk They must instil courage in the team to Investigation Board (CSB), dwelt on the ‘greens’ (the good results). Incident
Process Safety’ organised by the Centre reduction is vital even for older plants bring the bad news,” he added. the role of the investigation agency, root causes are not fi xing management
When new processes are being in- for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), built before newer standards were which aims to go beyond determining system failures, and the accident inves-
troduced or when there are changes to US, part of the American Institute of introduced. Safety – not a priority, but a value the traditional root cause of accidents it tigation process needs improvement,”
a process, hazards, risks, and control Chemical Engineers. Dr. Fawaz Bitar, Senior Vice Presi- investigates. “We ask questions at the he observed.
measures need to be revalidated. PSM ‘Beware of complacency’ dent of Safety, Health, Environment and systems level and what led to the failure.
is important for many types of indus- In his view, despite root cause ana- Mr. Shakeel Kadri, Executive Carbon, BP, also noted that while checks From tragedy we draw knowledge to Mr. Surana pointed to a root cause
tries, and examples include oil & gas, lysis, regulations, etc. process accidents Director & CEO, CCPS, highlighted and safety processes are important, they improve safety for all.” analysis of safety incidents in the Indian
energy generation, manufacturing, still happen in the industry. “Are we the evolution of the organisation, which can lull the management into compla- oil & gas industry in last fi ve years,
mining, food & beverage, pharmaceuti- not learning from our mistakes; or do was started a few months after the cency. “By taking false comfort that all He stressed the need for providing which revealed that 70% was due to
cal, chemical, pulp & paper, construc- we need a different prism to view the Bhopal gas tragedy. Though founded in is well, we can become desensitized to psychological safety to employees, in human factors, 13% was hardware
tion, and others. accidents of the past?” he asked. the US, it has global scope and mission, danger and normalize risks. Major con- order to fully investigate an incident. related, 9% systems related and 7% due
and more than 50% of its membership sequences arise when this complacency “Psychological safety is important to other causes.
(284 companies from 48 countries) coincides with economic pressures and get to the answer needed, not the one
is outside of the US. “Our vision is a forces cost cuttings,” he warned. you want to hear.” “In human causes, the key issue
world without process safety incidents, was safety culture and leadership &
and we needthe help of industry to Stressing the importance of leader- Mr. Kadri also stressed the signi- competency assurance, as the industry
achieve this goal.” ship when it comes to safety, Dr. Bitar fi cant need to improve psychological uses contract labour in a signifi cant
noted that “board room and control safety.“Operational leaders lack cour- way.In process causes, gaps in hazard
Warning against complacency, rooms must both understand the risks.” age to speak up or confront issues with identifi cation and risk assessment, asset
Mr. Kadri pointed to several obstacles to Safety, he added, cannot be a priority, dissenting views,” he stated. integrity management, management of
building a robust process safety culture as “priorities can change.”“It needs to safety barriers and operational disci-
in an organisation including ineffective be a value.” Role of leadership pline were key reasons.”
risk assessments of systems; reversing Mr. Yatendra Lodha, Group Head –
Inauguration burden of proof when evaluating safety The industry, he added, still suffers Safety & Operational Risk, Reliance Emerging risks in the industry, he

174 Chemical Weekly December 24, 2024 Chemical Weekly December 24, 2024 175

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