CSB Issues Guidance on Accident Prevention

Firm Boards of Administrators and senior executives of oil and fuel corporations ought to take discover of a Might 14, 2020, steering doc issued by the Chemical Security Board (CSB) entitled, “CSB Greatest Follow Steering for Company Boards of Administrators and Executives within the Offshore Oil and Fuel Trade for Main Accident Prevention.,”  And don’t be deceived by its title reference to offshore actions.  Corporations additionally must pay thoughts to the steering for onshore operations.  Why?  If there’s an accident, authorities businesses will seemingly argue that the rules articulated apply equally as properly on dry land.

Why subject steering now?  The steering comes on the 10-year anniversary of probably the most vital offshore explosions in historical past—the Deepwater Horizon explosion that occurred within the Macondo Prospect within the Gulf of Mexico, offshore of Louisiana.  The symbolic step of issuing the steering only one week forward of the 10 12 months anniversary of the Might 20, 2010, Macondo blowout, hearth, and explosion was certainly meant to convey further consideration to its launch.

The steering focuses on boards of administrators’ and executives’ roles in making certain implementation of efficient security administration methods to handle dangers of main accidents correctly.  The steering factors to a latest {industry} report [1] noting that course of security is among the least mentioned subjects at company board conferences.  Clearly, the CSB perceives this to be an indication that top-level administration at oil and fuel corporations usually are not paying sufficient consideration to those points.

Onshore amenities might have dismissed the steering doc as irrelevant to their operations, however doing so could be unwise in that the steering has classes for (and will even be cited towards) onshore amenities or, even any {industry} that operates a hazardous facility.

What does the steering suggest?  The steering cites the advantages of an efficient course of security program as recognized by the main unbiased physique that speaks to course of issues of safety within the chemical and oil and fuel sectors—the Middle for Chemical Course of Security (CCPS). [2]

The steering states that boards of administrators and executives ought to:

Guarantee a strong security administration system is in place;

Promote a robust course of security tradition;

Take into account adopting a company philosophy encouraging the usage of inherent security rules or drives main accident danger to As Low As Fairly Practicable (ALARP) or an identical risk-reduction goal;

Guarantee at the very least one of many firm’s administrators has the required and related training, expertise and coaching to collect, assess and talk necessary course of safety-related info;

Set up a board champion for course of security who initiates dialogue in any respect board conferences and leads course of security oversight and different initiatives on behalf of the board;

Develop a course of security coverage that’s periodically reviewed and revised as crucial and is an integral a part of the corporate’s tradition, values, and efficiency requirements;

Guarantee the next gadgets are in place: constant company insurance policies; procedures for hazard identification, danger evaluation, and controls; clear administration construction with established duties; wonderful communications with shareholders, regulators, and different stakeholders, in addition to well timed notifications; established working procedures, doc management measures, and efficiency indicators; investigations of course of security incidents and close to misses, and documentation of findings and corrective actions; and an audit system, administration reviews, and administration opinions;

Talk course of security insurance policies and their significance in addition to the essential position of staff in danger identification and administration;

Set up sturdy Board visibility, together with website visits, shows, and board-level coaching initiatives together with well being and security coaching programs, in addition to the creation of company-specific packages with an emphasis on course of security;

Focus on with the chief govt and senior administration the state of the entity’s enterprise danger administration (ERM) and supply efficient oversight as wanted;

Use efficient main and lagging security indicators to permit for continuous monitoring of the corporate’s efficiency and carried out insurance policies to make sure they take applicable actions and obtain anticipated outcomes;

Institute a cross-industry strategy to the training and sharing of classes from vital course of security incidents.

Observations on Applicability, Scope, and Timing of the Steering:

Why is that this steering being directed towards boards/executives as a substitute of environmental, well being and security workers?  The steering speaks particularly to company boards and executives and never facility administration or security personnel.  There’s a sense that boards and executives usually are not paying sufficient consideration to those points and are merely delegating it to environmental and security professionals.  That is primarily based on the discovering that course of security is among the least mentioned subjects at company board conferences, whereas monetary efficiency and regulatory compliance are among the many most mentioned subjects.  The least mentioned subjects along with course of security embrace asset integrity/legal responsibility, contractor administration, and provide chain.

Why have boards struggled with course of security?  Jack Welch, the late former-CEO of Basic Electrical in its heyday and the place the authors of this text labored for a few years on course of issues of safety, used to evangelise to us:  What will get measured will get completed!  He was so proper.  Corporations rightfully concentrate on regulatory compliance, because of its apparent significance for legal responsibility, and likewise as a result of it’s simpler to measure, assess, and report back to a board.  There are shiny traces, like variety of notices of violations/citations, quantity of penalties paid for noncompliance, and the like–metrics that boards routinely use to evaluate efficiency and to make corrections the place wanted.  For security, there’s one metric—OSHA recordable accidents and diseases—however this isn’t a number one indicator.  It tells you what occurred but it surely doesn’t point out what will occur and tips on how to greatest handle danger going ahead.

And, course of security is just a distinct animal—it entails a performance-based steady enchancment that interprets much less simply to measurement.  That will clarify why it’s much less mentioned on the board stage.  It’s not that oil and fuel firm boards don’t worth security; they unquestionably do.  In responding to Jack’s problem—corporations have struggled with the truth that measurement and software of main security indicators are laborious.  That is true for a lot of security professionals and plant managers, not simply board members.  Corporations want to acknowledge that there’s an expectation to handle these points and firms ought to think about that there are main indicators that may be measured.  We’ve completed it with purchasers.  As a result of the CSB is saying to concentrate on it, boards and executives want to appreciate that it’s important.

Why is that this steering related to onshore amenities?  The rules articulated within the CSB steering for offshore operations arguably apply with equal drive to onshore amenities, certainly to any manufacturing facility to correctly handle dangers, in that these rules are by no means distinctive to offshore amenities or at the very least that’s the argument that corporations not following these pointers ought to count on when dealing with an accusation that an onshore accident violated the final responsibility clauses underneath the OSH Act and the Clear Air Act’s Danger Administration Program (RMP) rules.  Regulators will seemingly level to the truth that offshore and onshore amenities have analogous tools together with separators, pumps, compressors, pipelines, meters and manifolds.  Operation of offshore and onshore amenities have analogous hazards corresponding to fires and explosions.  Operation of offshore and onshore amenities have analogous security processes and procedures, together with working procedures, upkeep procedures, mechanical integrity inspections, hazard identification, management measures, investigations and security efficiency indicators.  These procedures and processes are hallmarks of an efficient security course of for each offshore and onshore amenities.

How may CSB and different regulatory businesses use this doc?CSB will use this doc in conducting its investigations.  The duties and authority of a CSB Investigation Staff embrace “reviewing pertinent federal and state legal guidelines, rules, codes, {industry} requirements, and different good follow steering; figuring out whether or not an organization complied with such authorities; and analyzing these authorities for effectiveness or potential gaps in protection.” [3] OSHA, its state counterparts, and EPA may use the steering in enforcement actions.

In its Subject Operations Handbook for imposing occupational well being and security requirements, OSHA offers the next enforcement coverage in figuring out violations of the OSHA Basic Responsibility Clause, Part 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Security and Well being Act of 1970 for hazard recognition – “though proof of recognition by an employer’s comparable operations inside an {industry} is most popular, proof that the employer’s total {industry} acknowledges the hazard could also be adequate.” [4] Right here, OSHA might take a look at the general oil and fuel {industry} and never simply the onshore or offshore {industry} in figuring out if the hazard is acknowledged.

EPA states that homeowners and operators should adjust to the RMP common responsibility clause in the identical method and the identical extent as employers should adjust to the Occupational Security Well being Act administered by OSHA. [5]  Corporations conducting Course of Security Tradition Assessments [6] that require an analysis of the effectiveness of course of security management can use the steering as a part of the evaluation to judge management on the board stage.  An aggrieved shareholder bringing a by-product go well with towards board members or executives might use the steering to determine a explanation for motion.

* * * *

Along with corporations with offshore operations, these with onshore operations ought to take heed and use the CSB steering to judge their board charters, committees, subcommittees, communications, and procedures in mild of the steering.  They need to think about if there are efficient security administration methods in place to correctly handle dangers in place on the board of administrators and govt ranges and that they will doc that the board and executives are monitoring course of security main indicators.  CSB is telling us that the tone for an efficient Course of Security Administration program must be set from the highest.

[1] DuPont Sustainable Options, “Lack of Inside Alignment and Dedication of Assets to Handle Danger Threaten Company Enterprise Efficiency:  International Survey of Executives Exposes Essential Areas of Concern for CEOs and Their Administration Groups,” Determine 5 at 5, obtainable at https://www.consultdss.com/global-operational-risk-management-survey-rep….

[2] CCPS, “The Enterprise Case for Course of Security,” at 8 (second ed. 2006), obtainable at https://www.aiche.org/ccps/business-case-process-safety-pdf.

[3] U.S. Chemical Security and Hazard Investigation Board, Board Order 040 6.G, dated February, 2017.

[4] OSHA Directive Quantity: CPL 02-00-163, Subject Operations Handbook, p. 415, dated September 13, 2019.

[5] EPA Steering for Implementation of the Basic Responsibility Clause Clear Air Act Part 112(r)(1), dated Might, 2000.

[6] California Title Eight CCR § 5189.1(r) requires refinery employers to conduct a Course of Security Tradition Evaluation.

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