Eliminate serious incidents
In 2015, we continued to look for ways to prevent high- potential incidents in our operations. For example, we are exploring technologies that detect a worker’s presence in the blind spots of heavy construction equipment to avoid accidents. We have taken our experience and shared it in construction industry forums to advance these technologies by encouraging use beyond the oil and gas industry. procedures and training that prevent the uncontrolled release of hydrocarbons and hazardous substances — is a core value that shapes risk management across our operations. We seek to ensure our facilities are well-designed and safely operated to prevent potential safety incidents. To that end, we use a comprehensive and disciplined approach to identify, eliminate or manage process safety risks associated with our operations, which employs layers of preventive and mitigative barriers, including equipment, processes and people, as illustrated in the graphic on the right. Process safety Our commitment to process safety — the equipment,
At ExxonMobil, we look to ensure effective barriers are intact.
Know the major hazards Major asset-specific hazards are known. Understand the barriers Barriers are defined and individual responsibilities are assigned to protect from and mitigate risks. Maintain barrier health Barrier effectiveness is assessed and regularly discussed.
Mitigative barriers
Preventive barriers
Event
“When managing process safety, we focus on both facility risks and human performance risks. It takes relentless leadership throughout the organization with mechanisms to ensure accountability at all levels and verification that these risks are managed effectively 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.” Bob Bailes Downstream and Chemical safety, security, health and environment manager We subscribe to the American Petroleum Institute (API) Recommended Practice 754 and the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers No. 456, which are industry standards. These standards define process safety indicators and use a process safety incident triangle to represent events from Tier 1 through Tier 4, as seen on the left. Tiers 1 and 2 include incidents resulting in a loss of primary containment (LOPC). According to the API, LOPC is defined as an unplanned or uncontrolled release of any material from primary containment, including nontoxic and nonflammable materials. Tiers 3 and 4 represent near-misses and leading performance measures such as on-time maintenance performance. In 2015, we had 74 Tier 1 process safety events, which is slightly higher than
2014. Tier 1 process safety events are tracked and analyzed in our overall efforts to prevent significant events. In 2015, events occurred in various phases of our operations and include equipment malfunction and person or equipment interface. Event analysis is used to enhance our prevention efforts and organizational learning. Our focus on process safety remains high, with a continued emphasis on ensuring that preventive and mitigative barriers are in place. We recognize that a significant process safety event at any site affects everyone in the industry by eroding stakeholder trust. When such incidents do occur, we are committed to learning from them and taking steps to prevent a recurrence. We deeply regret the incident that occurred on February 18, 2015, at the Torrance refinery and are thankful there were no serious injuries or community health impacts. We are working with regulators to thoroughly investigate the incident, and we are applying the lessons learned by enhancing operating procedures, monitoring equipment and training at ExxonMobil refineries. We will share our findings with the refining industry to help prevent future occurrences. Collaborating with our peers and industry associations on process safety is paramount to sharing lessons learned within our company and across our industry. ExxonMobil serves as a contributing member to a variety of groups and
Process safety incident triangle
Tier 1 LOPC events of greater consequence
Tier 2 LOPC events of lesser consequence
Tier 3 Challenges to safety systems
Tier 4 Operating discipline and management system performance indicators
As part of the American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice 754 and the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers No. 456 industry standards, the process safety incident triangle is used to represent events from Tier 1 through Tier 4.
Safety, health and the workplace exxonmobil.com/citizenship
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