Communication is key to safety
29 Nov 2013
Process safety management is a constantly evolving field, but good communication remains fundamental to its success, Process Engineering heard yesterday.
Speaking in London at the ABB process safety management event, experts from the chemicals and process sectors said that companies wanting to ensure good process safety standards must communicate at all levels – from the board to the shop floor.
One of the key challenges companies face is bridging the gap between the skilled engineers’ knowledge and the more general “director” level of knowledge regarding process safety, speakers warned.
Senior process safety consultant for ABB Graeme Laughland said: “[Within hazardous operations (HAZOP)] using best practice techniques can be as simple as using non-technical language that non-HAZOP personnel will understand.”
The weakest part of a safety management system is the people
Ian Travers
Ensuring clear communication is a key way of addressing what is perhaps the greatest challenge for process safety management: understanding and eliminating human error.
Acting head of the chemicals, explosives and microbiological hazards division at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Ian Travers said: “The weakest part of a safety management system is the people.”
He suggested that even the discovery of more time-efficient processes may be detrimental to plant and staff safety.
“Finding shortcuts may incur risks and may not necessarily be appropriate to good safety management within a plant”, he said.
However, Travers and several other speakers at the event added that in many cases companies are already exhibiting good process safety practices across their plants. For process safety management to work in any sector, said Travers, it must “fit like a glove over the entire business”.
