Process safety management at Woodside – creating a sustainable global approach
Rachelle A. DoyleWoodside Energy Ltd, Woodside Plaza, 240 St Georges Terrace, Perth, WA, 6000, Australia. Email: rachelle.doyle@woodside.com.au
The APPEA Journal 57(2) 430-433 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ16188
Accepted: 27 March 2017 Published: 29 May 2017
Abstract
Woodside’s Process Safety Management (PSM) Initiative introduced a framework for a holistic, effective and sustainable PSM system. We adapted an international industry standard to develop our own company-specific PSM procedure. Embedding PSM requirements into the existing Woodside Management System and workforce behaviours enables the business to execute consistent, proactive PSM throughout the exploration and production lifecycle – across assets and countries.
Change was facilitated through creating a shared vision for process safety, ‘We all own, understand and act to control process safety risks’. We set clear expectations for ourselves and those we work with (our contractors) through defined roles and responsibilities. Fundamentally we moved our mindset to being ‘Line-Led, Risk-Based’, placing high value on visible leadership and operational discipline. Behavioural change was supported with a comprehensive training curriculum aligned to competencies and a coaching program.
To facilitate consistent application of PSM across our global operations, we implemented a system using a whole of company approach. A key focus was applying a deep understanding of the hazards and risks in the business to establish a framework for quality multi-discipline risk assessments and risk-based decision making. Implementation included a suite of supporting technical and management system changes to grow a high value process safety culture – where we actively seek out the challenging issues and see the red indicators as opportunity for improvement.
Our PSM Initiative empowers sustainable process safety performance through a risk aware workforce where everyone knows their top process safety risks and is required to take action to manage those risks.
Keywords: excursion monitoring, operational risk assessment, process safety, process safety governance, process safety metrics, safety critical elements, process safety risk assessment, safe operating envelope.
Rachelle A. Doyle is a dynamic process safety leader with over 20 years’ experience within global businesses including Woodside, Chevron, BHP Billiton and Alcoa. Her career commenced as a process engineer and operations supervisor in the minerals processing sector before moving into the energy sector. She has worked in system design, commissioning and operations in complex and profit conscious environments. A passion for process safety led to a change of career focus and she has been key in leading change through strategic improvement projects in this area with the objective of achieving sustained effective process safety performance. Her current role as Manager Process Safety is focused on developing core process safety capabilities and systems with a drive for continuous improvement in process safety performance. Rachelle is a chartered engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. |
