Safety Improvement in Chemical Products Distribution
CCPS Latin American Conference on Process Safety
2009
2nd Latin American Process Safety Conference and Expo
2nd Latin American Process Safety Conference and Expo
Poster Session
This keynote intends to present a summary of the DuPont recent experience in Distribution Safety in Latin America. The starting point is a review of the 1980's initiative, called RHYTHM? (Remember How You Treat Hazardous Materials), which was a robust management system that represented a step change through a systemic approach for distribution hazard management.
Around year 2005, the distribution safety challenges significantly increased, due to both a stronger economy and the diversification and expansion of routes, as Latin America was consolidated as an integrated business region for the company.
As a consequence of that transportation activity growth in the region, the safety performance trend started to show some areas of concerns and a deep diagnosis showed that the management system was in place, in terms of equipments, procedures, routes and inspections. However, a strong opportunity resided on the safety culture, operational discipline and motivation, which are all human-related aspects.
The distribution safety team designed an improvement plan focusing on 13 key initiatives strongly connected with human-related aspects, including training, motivation, health, life quality, stress. In addition to that, tighter controls on travel procedures and contract practices have been implemented.
The result was a revised Distribution Safety Management System with a stronger partnership between DuPont and the carriers, that brought a dramatically drop in distribution-related incidents across all Latin America countries. To share this success with clients and partners, DuPont Safety Resources, the consulting branch of DuPont have formatted the Distribution Safety Management System, through the Platinum Book, gathering 10 Control Elements with a strong focus on Safety Culture, Management Commitment and Operational Discipline, including a innovative attention on the driver, through practices such as motivation, risk perception, stress control, health promotion and other human-related aspects.