HSE Chair challenges industry leaders to walk the talk

E027:08 29 April 2008

For the first time ever over 200 industry leaders came together to share their learning on process safety in the major hazards industry today. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) created a common platform for industry leaders to share good practice and learning from incidents such as those at Texas City, Buncefield and the Thorp plant in Sellafield at its 'Leading from the top- avoiding major incidents' conference. Discussions at this conference served as a stark reminder to senior managers that the absence of conventional safety accidents and injuries in the past few years should not, in itself, be taken as a positive assurance of an overall improvement in process safety across the major hazards industry.

HSE Chair Judith Hackitt said, "We have seen similarities in the messages, concerns, challenges and problems discussed today. It's clear that there is much to be gained by further collaborative action across the sectors but the success of the day lies in what takes place next. If nothing changes as a result of the discussions today - it will be more than a pity, it could well be a tragedy. We in HSE will continue to give high priority in working with you in the major hazards industries but we are calling upon you to take the lead. Tell us how we can best support you."

Key themes that emerged from the conference include:

• Process safety cannot be managed from the boardroom, senior managers need to walk the talk and listen to the frontline staff
• We cannot assume that everyone understands what process safety is and why it is so important in managing the major hazards business
• A strong appetite for creating a CEOs forum to share good practice and knowledge transfer in the spirit of business competition
• Strong support for a robust, real but practicable peer review process
• Key performance indicators are a vital tool in helping industry manage its process safety

There are similarities in the challenges faced by all sectors in the major hazards industry. Issues such as increasingly ageing facilities, some well beyond originally expected operating life ageing; skills shortages in key trades and professions; cost and production pressures; balancing varied and often conflicting priorities; massive change of ownership are a common across major hazards industries. A significant challenge for leaders is creating a long term sustainable safety culture in the industry. Leadership credibility takes a long time to build but can be lost in an instant.

Notes to editors

1. The ''Leading from the top- avoiding major incidents' conference took place at the QEII Centre on 29 April 2008.
2. Process safety analysis is identification and evaluation of hazards associated with chemical and other processes that could potentially lead to major releases of dangerous substances. (The recent HSE/Chemical Industries Association publication HSG 254 outlines an approach for "Developing Process Safety Indicators for the chemical and major hazard industries)
3. Other speakers at the conference were Bill Coley, CEO-British Energy Group; Jeremy Bending, Director-Network Strategy; Steve Flynn Vice-President HSSE- BP Group Safety and Operations.
4. To prevent major incidents HSE recommends organisations to focus on process safety leadership built around 7 key elements. http://www.hse.gov.uk/leadership/principlesleadership.htm
5. You can view our latest leadership podcast on www.hse.gov.uk/podcasts/2008/leadership.htm
6. Photographs from the event available on request.

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