Abstract

An effective accident prevention program, coupled with sound safety management is essential if any operating or service company in the petroleum industry is to achieve continued, long term improvement in safety performance. The structure and implementation of both may vary from one company to another, but to be effective, the two must be successfully integrated as a unit.

It is clear that safety management cannot stop at a set of management principles at the upper management level. Nor can communication and implementation be one way, from the top down and be restricted to policy statements and procedures handed to the general employee population. To be successful a program must establish a vehicle to encourage open and honest two way communication from the lowest level to the manager.

Accident prevention programs, by their design and structure, must be proactive and focus on prevention, and not be limited to a reactive mode. They must also integrate the concepts of safety management with the realities of the working environment, and combine all of the required essentials into a program that is easily implemented but comprehensive, and which can become part of the normal working routine of the employee.

This paper describes an accident prevention program which works from the bottom up, focusing on early hazard identification and elimination. A team concept is utilized to involve all levels of employees, and the basic fundamentals of safety management are integrated into the program, resulting in improved safety performance over time.