Richard Gowland to Chair Session at Industrial Technologies 2010 Conference
02/09/2010
EPSC Technical Director, Richard Gowland, is to chair a session on integrating safety into emerging technologies at the development stage, to take part on 7th September at Industrial Technologies 2010.
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2006-2008 Seveso 2 Implementation Report Made Available
23/08/2010
A summary of EU Member State reports of Seveso data covering the period 2006 to 2008 has been made available by the European Commission.
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CFPB To Hold Workshop On Land Use Planning For LPG
11/08/2010
The Comité Français du Propane et Butane (CFPB) is to hold a one day workshop next month in Paris on Industrial Safety and Land-use Planning around LPG establishments.
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EPSC Strategic Review on Process Safety Competence
11/08/2010
EPSC has initiated a strategic review on process safety competence which it expects to publish mid 2011, for which it is requesting input.
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Stuxnet Worm Webinar - Details of Process Control Malware
11/08/2010
IndustrialDefender hold a series of webinars on Stuxnet, the first malware found to deliberately target industrial process control software.
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Applying the Lessons of Safety Leadership, Culture and Performance Measurement After Texas City

23/03/2010
Safety leadership and the role of safety culture and performance indicators are elements of major hazard control that have gained considerable prominence in the risk management community based on investigation findings from the Baker Panel report ensuing from the 23 March 2005 accident in the Texas City refinery. The main thrust of the report’s conclusions is that a strong safety culture coupled with a rigorous safety management system is a root level defence against major accidents at hazardous installations. Moreover, corporate management cannot practice its oversight function without a precisely calibrated feedback on the performance of the safety management system.

The workshop focused on three important linked concepts within this message and promoted within the report as follows:

A positive safety culture is important for good process safety performance.
Leadership sets the process safety tone at the top of the organization. It also includes owning and implementing effective policies and arrangements to manage risks, allocating resources and making effective decisions about the day to day management of business risks.
Leaders need appropriate information on the performance of the process safety management system in order to make effective decisions that support and maintain effective control of major hazard risks and, where appropriate take corrective action

This particular workshop was sponsored by the European Commission on behalf of industry and regulatory bodies with obligations associated with major hazard control at fixed installations as defined by the Seveso II Directive. The Seveso Directive covers a large number of industrial sectors that produce, store and/or handle dangerous substances, large and small, including hazardous operations that are easily recognized such as refineries and chemical processing facilities, and in addition warehouses and distribution centres for chemical and petroleum products as well as producers of various consumer and industrial products that use dangerous chemicals in the manufacturing process. The technical advisory committee aims to produce a document describing the conclusions of the workshop and key points on the topic.

The Major Accident Hazards Bureau advises the European Commission on matters relating to Seveso II. Information relating to their other activities can be found via their site: here.

Update: Materials from the workshop are now available from this site: here