A whole-of-business approach to major accident event preparedness
Peter Murphy A and Peter Wilkinson ANoetic Group.
The APPEA Journal 56(2) 551-551 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ15057
Published: 2016
Abstract
Recent disasters such as Montara and Macondo have highlighted the devastating impact that major accident events (MAE) have on organisations. This awareness is reflected within industry, among regulators and by professional organisations, who are all increasing their focus on process safety management to prevent MAEs.
This extended abstract posits that the increased focus on process safety management, while essential as a preventative measure, provides only part of the broader solution that underpins a robust business resilience framework. Such a framework delivers a systematic whole-of-business approach to MAE prevention, preparedness, response and recovery, and highlights the role corporate strategy and governance play in better managing and preparing all levels of an organisation for a MAE.
The authors ask the following questions:
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To what extent are organisations really prepared to manage the consequences of a MAE?
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Are organisations investing appropriately to support MAE preparedness across all levels of their business?
In this context, this extended abstract discusses the significance of a robust business resilience framework that incorporates and understands the interdependencies of enterprise risk management, business continuity planning, critical event management, and the lessons that have been learned. It identifies the importance of the role of executives and senior leaders in a robust framework, and the value of continued investment in a complete whole-of-business MAE solution. The authors outline a framework for implementation at all business levels that will build overall business resilience to prepare for a MAE.
Peter Murphy is co-founder and CEO of Noetic Group. Noetic advises the resources sector and government, with offices in Australia, PNG and the US. Noetic provides strategy, implementation, risk and safety, and capacity building services. Peter joined Noetic after a career in the Australian Defence Force as an Army Officer. Since that time he has worked with the Commonwealth Government on the response to the Montara Blowout and the Ranger Uranium spill, and operational reviews of NOPSEMA and NOPTA. He has undertaken risk and safety projects for state and territory governments that span major hazard facilities, primary industries and corrections. He has also led lessons learned projects for a number of disasters such as tropical cyclones Larry and Yasi, and major fires. Peter has contributed to Noetic’s work for oil and gas companies in Australia and China. His qualifications include BA (Hons), MSc and MBA degrees. |
Peter Wilkinson is General Manager–Risk at Noetic Group. Peter’s career spans both government regulation and senior leadership in the corporate sector. He spent 27 years in the UK Health and Safety Executive as a regulator, including in the North Sea following the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988. He also regulated all of Britain’s onshore oil and gas industry, including on one occasion attending a blowout of a CSG well in the grounds of a hospital. His last four years in HSE were spent in Australia, leading the team that developed the (then) National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (now NOPSEMA). From 2005–09 Peter was a senior executive on the leadership team of Caltex Australia, as GM Operational Excellence and Risk. His international consulting career includes corporate and government clients—mainly in mining and oil and gas—in New Zealand, China, Southeast Asia, the UK, Canada and the US. Since 2011, Peter has provided support to the US Government’s Chemical Safety Board in their investigation into the BP Macondo/Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico disaster in 2010 that resulted in the deaths of 11 men and one of the USA’s worst oil spills. Peter worked on the Montara blowout for Minister Ferguson, and is presently working for the NT Government on the uranium leachate incident that occurred at the Ranger Mine. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, and is on the Australian Government’s Nuclear Safety Committee. |
References
BBC, 1997—Spiral to Disaster. Disaster series 1, episode 1; TV program produced and directed by B. Higgins and narrated by J. Nettles. London: BBC.Teles, S.M., 2013—Kludgeocracy in America. National Affairs, issue no. 17. Accessed 2 May 2016. <http://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/kludgeocracy-in-america>.
