UKPIA is a member of, and chairs the Process Safety Leadership Group (PSLG).
PSLG, formed in September 2007, was designed to meet the need for an effective framework for interaction between industry, trade unions and the COMAH Competent Authority (CA); a framework in which they could carry out a dialogue to jointly develop, progress and implement meaningful, effective recommendations and practices that improve safety in our industries. PSLG’s membership consists of senior representatives of the relevant trade associations, the CA and trade unions. Its work builds on that of Buncefield Standards Task Group (BSTG), set up in 2006 to translate the lessons learned from that incident into effective and practical guidance that the industry could implement quickly. PSLG expanded its membership to include the Chemical Industries Association and also took on the task of progressing the implementation of the Buncefield Major Incident Investigation Board’s (MIIB) recommendations. PSLG also saw a need to raise the profile of process safety leadership throughout the petrochemical and chemical industries in response to criticisms by both the Baker Panel (Texas City) and MIIB (Buncefield) that leadership in this area was lacking and a contributory factor to these events. PSLG has sought to continue the BSTG’s model of working through trade associations to measure and encourage progress against the various recommendations. In particular, the use of work groups involving the regulator, industry and trade unions has been key to developing effective, practical guidance and recommendations with buy-in from all involved. To support this work, PSLG developed its Principles of Process Safety Leadership, signed by the trade associations, CA and trade unions, which set out the commitment to the enhancement of process safety. The trade associations will reflect the principles of process safety through their own initiatives and actively share progress as programmes roll out.
UKPIA members are committed to improving process safety in the downstream oil industry. In a major step forward for the industry, UKPIA developed a commitment to process safety to promote and deliver excellence in process safety within its membership.
This commitment aims to:
- Recognise that strong performance is key to protecting people and the environment, preventing uncontrolled releases of hazardous materials, and minimise the impact should a release occur
- Foster a spirit of co-operation in pursuit of sector process safety excellence in all areas
- Meet the expectations of the Buncefield Major Incident Investigation Boards recommendations on high reliability organisations, culture and leadership
A copy of the commitment statement can be found here.