Commitment, concerted effort behind Refining's safety improvement

Tupara Moanaroa (left) and Bill Macey, maintenance contractors, carry out work on Tank 57 at Kurnell

Refining’s safety statistics have improved dramatically – by more than 20 percent over the past year – following similar rates of progress over the past five years in what refinery people often refer to as their ‘safety journey’.

“Some may wonder if it’s good management or just luck,” says Tip Huizenga, Kurnell Refinery Manager. “Or maybe they’ll link the performance to the changes in the way we’ve managed safety.”

It definitely didn’t happen by chance, Tip concludes. Changes in the way Caltex refineries manage and approach safety have been the difference, and can be linked back to the application of the Loss Prevention System (LPS) and the introduction of the Incident and Injury Free (IIF) program some years ago.

Work done by everyone in refining to encourage a culture of care and concern among work teams for each others’ welfare has also helped, and the hard work put in by many Caltex people over the years is starting to pay off, Tip says.

“Safety improvement is a tenuous thing. When you change the way you manage, results are often not immediate. It’s not like when you tune a car and get a better performance straight away.”

This year to July the serious injury rate is 30 percent down on last year across refining and 70 percent down at Kurnell. Lytton has made steady progress over the past few years. Kurnell achievedminor improvements for a number of years, so the results of the hard work are finally becoming apparent, Tip adds.

People and process

While LPS and IIF have been enablers, it’s how people get involved that actually makes the difference, Tip says. The programs enable employees to be engaged and interact with each other and support certain behaviours which, in turn, lead to improvements. More open dialogue then follows, which means issues are extensively reviewed and even better controls can be put in place.

“The way our work teams consider the hazards associated with a job prior to commencing work is a great example of how improvement comes with effort. It reinforces our permit–to-work processes and reinforces the need to focus on safe execution of work.”

Though the refineries have indeed made great progress, there is determination to make their operations safer still. “Consequently, the issue can be become one of ‘blow-outs’ – when you get to a really low injury rate, one or two injuries can make a significant difference,” says Mike Gray, Acting Lytton Refinery Manager. “That’s why we need to reach the mindset that zero is achievable, and open new lines of communication to support that.”

The notion of zero is critical, because ultimately refineries have to reach a stage where everyone thinks it’s unacceptable to have any injuries whatsoever.

“We’ve gone for long periods with no serious injuries at all, so we know it’s possible,” says Tip. “We must promote that mindset. But we should also acknowledge our safety achievements and continue to demonstrate to people how we’re doing things differently.”