Asset Integrity and Process Safety Management (AI-PSM) is crucial for PDO's sustainable future. We are trusted to manage risks in the oil and gas industry, one that involves operating processes of flammable materials at high temperatures and pressures.
When something goes wrong, it can go very wrong.
Fortunately, we are today able to work with these materials safely. We do this by establishing and maintaining barriers that act as controls against identified hazards. These barriers reduce the likelihood of incidents occurring. Barriers control risks which protect us, our neighbours, our assets, our production and the environment.
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There are two kinds of barriers: critical equipment barriers and critical human barriers. These barriers work in combination to prevent disaster. Our human actions and inactions are often as important as the equipment safeguards.
We can think of these barriers as walls. Any deviation from procedures, any unaddressed alarm or overdue inspection creates a hole in the wall; a small hole perhaps, but create enough holes in enough walls and the barriers fail, which leads to disaster. Barriers may fail over time with only the last barrier failing shortly before the disaster. The first barriers may have failed months or even years earlier
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without their significance being noticed, paving the way for trouble ahead. Our goal is to minimise risks in our operations which takes the commitment of each one of us. Think about the equipment and human barriers that guard against an incident and ask yourself:
- Do I know the risks in my areas of the plant?
- Do I understand the barriers that we rely on to manage these risks?
- Do I see any problems with the barriers? Look and then see.
- What is my role in creating and maintaining these barriers?
If you are unsure of the answers or have questions, take action. Talk with your supervisor or a safety professional. PDO is relying on you to protect our production. |