BASS STRAIT OFFSHORE FACILITY SAFETY CASES: A CASE STUDY ON EFFECTIVE WORKFORCE INVOLVEMENT IN THE MODERN SAFETY CASE REGIME

Abstract

In 2001, Esso submitted 18 different Bass Strait Facility Safety Cases as part of their five year revision cycle, and obtained regulatory acceptance for each of them. These revised safety cases incorporated the accumulated learning from our many previous offshore safety case submissions, the 1998 Longford accident and our work with the WorkSafe Victoria Major Hazards Division. A number of significant challenges were met and overcome. This paper discusses our experiences and describes the processes we used to successfully develop useful, easy to use living safety cases for our offshore workforce.

Although our priority was to demonstrate that we knew our facilities, had identified hazards, assessed the risks associated with those hazards and had control measures in place to reduce those risks to as low as reasonably practicable, we also wanted to bring about behavioural change. This paper will explain how our safety case revision processes were used to successfully change workforce behaviours with consequent changes to collective attitudes and values across the organisation.

Extensive and highly effective employee involvement was integral to all stages of the safety case planning and development process. The paper examines how a skilled team comprising a workforce-elected Health and Safety Representative, an Offshore Installation Manager and specialist safety professionals collaborated to deliver a true program of workforce involvement and buy-in that in turn delivered the behavioural changes necessary for a true safety case culture to flourish.

Esso’s approach of developing a safety case as a shopfloor friendly tool highlighting the linkages between routinely used safety management system controls and the major accident event risks present at the workplace has delivered significant benefit in developing a risk averse health and safety culture. A comprehensive ongoing learning program designed to give the workforce the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to use the safety case to maximum advantage, has been developed as a key component of our safety case program. This paper explores the successful planning, development and implementation of this innovative learning program that has been widely recognised by regulators and industry.