(66b) Process Safety Culture in Latin America: Challenges and Opportunities

One of the four fundamental pillars of Process Safety Management (PSM) is the Commitment to Process Safety. Hence, having a Process Safety Culture is a cornerstone for achieving Process Safety excellence.

Although the term "Safety Culture" is a common term since it has been used for years in many organizations worldwide, the understanding changes when the topic of "Process Safety Culture" is addressed, mainly in developing countries, where, in contrast to developed countries, there are not explicit regulation that promotes process safety, or if it exists, as in the case of some Latin American countries, its understanding and application are limited in comparison from what happens in the developed countries.

To learn about the perception of process safety culture in developing countries, a survey and a series of interviews were conducted with several organizations from different sectors located in Latin America (Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, and Argentina). The survey included transnational companies with corporate headquarters in the USA or Europe, as well as Latin American companies, to compare the influence on the culture of those organizations whose corporate headquarters are located in developed countries.

The results provided useful insights that allow us to identify the main challenges faced by organizations in Latin America in terms of process safety culture, regardless of whether they have a global or local presence. Based on these results, an action plan was defined to focus the necessary efforts on clear opportunities for developing, sustaining, and enhancing the process safety culture in Latin America.