HEALTH & SAFETY
OPERATIONAL DISCIPLINE
AIR PRODUCTS EUROPE
MAKING THE DRIVE AND RATIONALE FOR OPERATIONAL
DISCIPLINE IMPORTANT TO PLANT OPERATORS
By Mike Cawthra F I Mech E – Technical
Manager Operations, Air Products Europe
Nowadays, you would be hard-pressed to
find a manufacturing or engineering firm
where health and safety isn’t high on their
agenda. But this increased interest at the
top of business doesn’t always mirror the
reality on the ground. Procedures aren’t
consistently implemented as they should
be, and accidents are still a major concern.
Research suggests that a staggering 91 per
cent of incidents in the sector are down
to human error – making them utterly
avoidable. So, what’s the solution?
The answer, in my opinion, is to make the
drive and rationale for operational discipline
important to plant operators themselves,
rather than just being something that is
imposed from on high. We should seek to
build a culture of discipline – continually
reiterating its importance and providing
regular training to ensure all operators have
the knowledge to understand the hazards
and how to prevent them.
Communication is key. Operators are being
told to follow procedures, but in some
cases, they aren’t taught to understand
them or why they’re important. Inevitably,
this means there will be those who don’t
follow them. If we’re going to cut down
on dangerous incidents, then it requires
a wholesale cultural change. Operational
Discipline must be instilled as a core
behaviour – one which will ultimately
become second nature.
Normalisation of deviance is a case in point.
A high integrity safety instrumented system
can be established at a site to protect
against hazards. But regardless of how
detailed the design process might have
been, if those on site aren’t familiar with
it then they are far more likely to ignore
the system’s warnings. A more effective
approach would be to involve plant
operators in the development process itself
so they fully understand what changes are
being made and why. This, in turn, will make
them far more likely to want to implement
them.
The general rule is that a ‘one size fits all’
approach just doesn’t work. Every site
122
PECM Issue 37
will have areas of particular weakness or
susceptibility and each will need to have
tailored solutions to those issues. Any
operational discipline plan should account
for this, allowing for site-specific challenges
and giving those on the ground the
opportunity to identify gaps in knowledge
or compliance, and to improve accordingly.
After all, we are all far more likely to adhere
to a process or procedure if we have been
involved in its creation, especially if it is
directly relevant to our day to day work.
At Air Products, we have developed a
10-point plan which has been designed
around this idea that operators should be
able to own programmes themselves. Under
each heading we define what the highest
standard of operations looks like, but they
aren’t set out as directives. Instead, we task
operators with identifying gaps at their site
and allow them to focus on these priorities.
In each case we get different gaps, different
methods to solve them, and bespoke
solutions to suit each site.
We are all working to create safer
workplaces and the latest data suggests
that progress is being made. But this is
no time to rest on our laurels. With such
a high percentage of incidents due to
human error, we have a clear area of focus
for the future. No matter how committed
a company might be to this at a corporate
level, the impetus must come from those
on the ground. We need to do more than
issue directives – we need to change on site
culture. That will only happen if everyone is
on board.
www.airproducts.com