Hazards XXIII

Today’s process industries benefit from a multitude of sophisticated safety management systems. As such, it should be possible to deliver an attractive financial return without causing undue harm to the workforce, inventory, the environment or the public at large. However, as recent incidents have revealed, it is clear that there is still much room for improvement.

Genuine and committed leadership from the very top of an organisation is needed. Process safety must be a boardroom issue and every CEO in the high hazard industries should consider the question, “How do I know that I am not going to have a major accident tomorrow?” Leaders who can answer this question convincingly will inspire others to follow suit. Lives will be saved and balance sheets will be protected as a result. Hazards XXIII will focus on the leadership dilemma.

The energy sector is set for heavy investment over the next two decades with a frenzy of activity expected in upstream oil and gas, new nuclear, LNG transportation and storage, clean coal and biofuels. There will be major safety challenges for designers, operators and regulators alike. Failures in process safety management can never deliver sustainable business success and close attention to detail will be needed to avoid repeating past mistakes. Hazards XXIII will examine lessons learned from previous incidents.

In refining, petrochemicals and fine chemicals, the desire to sweat assets and extend the life of ageing plants with new process developments and facility re-vamps, will bring additional challenges. Meanwhile, developments in emerging areas including industrial biotechnology will take process safety into new territory. The highest professional standards will be needed because people are the weakest part of any process safety management system. Hazards XXIII will look at safety culture and human factors in detail.

Hazards XXIII is an international symposium and contributions are being sought from all regions where the process safety challenge is being addressed.