Process safety management at Woodside – creating a sustainable global approach

Abstract

Woodside’s Process Safety Management (PSM) Initiative introduced a framework for a holistic, effective and sustainable PSM system. We adapted an international industry standard to develop our own company-specific PSM procedure. Embedding PSM requirements into the existing Woodside Management System and workforce behaviours enables the business to execute consistent, proactive PSM throughout the exploration and production lifecycle – across assets and countries. Change was facilitated through creating a shared vision for process safety, ‘We all own, understand and act to control process safety risks’. We set clear expectations for ourselves and those we work with (our contractors) through defined roles and responsibilities. Fundamentally we moved our mindset to being ‘Line-Led, Risk-Based’, placing high value on visible leadership and operational discipline. Behavioural change was supported with a comprehensive training curriculum aligned to competencies and a coaching program. To facilitate consistent application of PSM across our global operations, we implemented a system using a whole of company approach. A key focus was applying a deep understanding of the hazards and risks in the business to establish a framework for quality multi-discipline risk assessments and risk-based decision making. Implementation included a suite of supporting technical and management system changes to grow a high value process safety culture – where we actively seek out the challenging issues and see the red indicators as opportunity for improvement. Our PSM Initiative empowers sustainable process safety performance through a risk aware workforce where everyone knows their top process safety risks and is required to take action to manage those risks.