Operational Discipline New Generation

Operational Discipline NEW
GENERATION

Eduardo de Maio Francisco

DuPont do Brasil

James A. Klein

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

Lino Fuentes

DuPont Mexico

Prepared for
Presentation at

Central for Chemical
Process Safety - CCPS

2011 Regional Meeting

CCPS Latin America 2011 Conference

Buenos Aires, Argentina

August  8-10, 2011

Copyright ©  E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

April, 2011

UNPUBLISHED

Abstract

            DuPont has
developed and currently defines operational discipline as the deeply rooted
dedication and commitment by each member of the organization to carry out each
task the right way, each time. As such, operational discipline reflects the stage
of development of the safety culture in making safety systems effective and in sustaining
performance and results for preventing injuries and incidents.

            The purpose
of this paper is to discuss the development of operational discipline
principles at DuPont in special the concept introduced named as New Generation.

Introduction

            Managing
potentially hazardous materials and processes to prevent serious injuries and
incidents is an essential part of safety management programs, requiring the
continuous dedication and commitment of everyone in an organization. While
founded over 200 years ago in 1802 for the manufacture of gunpowder on the
banks of the Brandywine River in Delaware [1], this commitment ? now often
characterized as operational discipline ? has always been an important piece of
DuPont safety culture and programs. Reflecting on the hazards of the gunpowder
business in 1808, the founder, E. I. Du Pont, wrote:

The safety of our family, the
safety of the farmers who live in our neighborhood, has imposed upon us the
absolute duty of making choice of steady, sober men and of establishing the most
rigid discipline among our workmen [2].

            Today,
operational discipline is defined by DuPont as the deeply rooted dedication and
commitment by every member of an organization to carry out each task the right
way each time. No matter how comprehensive and well-designed safety programs
may be, it is the day-to-day ability of everyone to practice operational
discipline that successfully changes safety systems from concept to reality
with tangible results in order to achieve program goals. Clearly, this ability
not only helps prevent serious injuries and incidents, but also contributes to
excellent business performance through increased operating excellence,
including higher productivity, higher quality, reduced waste, and lower costs.

In the first Process Safety Management system developed and
implemented by DuPont in its structure, Operational Discipline element was
funded in 11 elements.

As part of the natural continuous improvement process of any
system at DuPont, Operational Discipline was revisited and upgraded for a new
structure of elements as such considering the approach to an organizational and
individual level:

1. Leadership by example

2. Employee involvement

3. Practice consistent with
procedures

4. Excellent Housekeeping

For the individual level the following concepts were
introduced:

1. Knowledge ? thorough understanding of how to do a task correctly and safely.
2. Commitment ? strong commitment to do tasks the right way, every time, following established procedures.
3. Awareness ? anticipation of potential problems and recognition of unusual situations.

DuPont has identified that
working with this four elements at organizational level and three at individual
level in a way that the remaining elements are integrated can be more effective
with better results. Also the Operational Discipline developments at DuPont
also introduced the concept of Organizational and Employee Operational
Discipline that also will be reviewed in this abstract.

      Through the
performance evaluation of PSM incidents it turned clear to DuPont that the
Operational Discipline approach had to be divided into two streams. The first
stream most centered and oriented to the organization itself. The other stream
most focused in the individual, considering specific personal and human
characteristics. The previous model was in a sense mixing both human and
organizational specifics that were causing constraints on its development and
implementation.

Process Safety Management

            A robust
management system for process safety performance results is very important to
maintain sustainability for a company that deals with chemical processes. While
operational discipline is fundamental to the success of all safety programs, it
is especially important in process safety management (PSM) programs, where the
risk associated with higher hazard processes could potentially result in
catastrophic incidents with multiple injuries. Many of the current DuPont
operational discipline practices were therefore developed by the PSM competency
and then adopted and modified by other EHS competencies, as needed. PSM is the
application of management systems and controls (programs, procedures, audits,
evaluations) to a manufacturing or chemical process in a way that process
hazards are identified, understood, and controlled, so that process-related
injuries and incidents are prevented. Operational discipline is recognized as
an essential part of the four steps used for implementation of PSM at DuPont [4]:

·       
Step 1 ? Establishing the Safety Culture

·       
Step 2 ? Providing Management Leadership and
Commitment

·       
Step 3 ? Implementing a Comprehensive PSRM
Program

·       
Step 4 ? Achieving Operational Excellence
through Operational Discipline

Development of
Operational Discipline at DuPont

            While
operational discipline and operating excellence have long been important
expectations at DuPont, formal programs for operational discipline were not
developed until the late 1980's. PSM training in 1989 [5], for example,
included a section on ?The Importance of Operating Discipline,? based on the
principle that:

The most technologically advanced plant in the world
cannot be made completely safe unless the individuals managing and working
there are dedicated and committed to keeping it free from accidents.

Figure 1 ? DuPont PSM Wheel

            The new
concepts associated to Operational Discipline, i.e., the four element
concentration and Organizational and Employee approaches were introduced in
2007. There were organized workshops to introduce the New Generation model and
were applied in all DuPont sites in the world.

The DuPont Process Safety
Management standard was reviewed and upgraded in 2010 and the new approach was definitely
integrated to DuPont safety culture.

Current
Operational Discipline Practice

Characteristics of Operational
Discipline

            Organizations
that have a high level of operational discipline usually exhibit an
identifiable set of positive behaviors or characteristics. While it's possible
that these characteristics may vary from one organization to another, DuPont
experience has shown that 4 key characteristics seem to be most important.
Other organizations have identified different sets of characteristics [9],
although there is usually some common ground. The key is their usefulness in
helping to evaluate operational discipline through-out the organization and in
helping to provide guidance for continuous improvement.

      The
4 operational discipline at organizational level characteristics currently used
by DuPont are:

1.     
Leadership by Example ? Management ?walks
the talk? in a visible and consistent manner. Leaders demonstrate an
unrelenting passion for safety, clearly communicate standards and expectations,
are visible in their commitment, are personally involved in safety, encourage
high employee participation rates, evaluate and recognize good performance,
listen to employee concerns, and follow-up on issues that have been identified.

2.     
Employee Involvement ? Employees at all
levels of the organization are involved and enthusiastic about participating in
safety-related activities. Organizational managing processes encourage and
facilitate high levels of participation by providing multiple opportunities for
involvement, and employees routinely volunteer to help improve site safety.

3.     
Practice Consistent with Procedures ?
Work is completed as planned, following authorized procedures according to
organizational system. Periodic reviews of procedures are made to ensure they
are correct and complete, training on procedures is provided, field audits are
made to confirm that procedures are being followed every time, and changes to
procedures are reviewed and authorized by affected employees.

4.     
Excellent Housekeeping ? Employees
throughout the organization are proud of their workplace, maintaining
consistently high levels of housekeeping in all areas using organizational
tools and systems. Housekeeping standards are established and clearly
communicated, all areas of the site are routinely evaluated, and equipment is
maintained in good operating condition.

The current approach for individual Operational Discipline
are:

1. Knowledge ? thorough understanding of how to do a task correctly and safely. The person, each individual, really knows how to perform the job in the right and safe way.
2. Commitment ? strong commitment to do tasks the right way, every time, following established procedures. The individual recognizes the importance and consequences of the reason why to keep the discipline on conducting the tasks and understanding the consequences of not doing so.
3. Awareness ? anticipation of potential problems and recognition of unusual situations. Individuals are constantly mind opened to identify and mainly, what to do if anything is not in accordance to the planned or to new or unusual situations and not entering in a automatic behaviour on doing activities.

Future Focus

            Increased
access to data on operational discipline from self-assessments, incident data,
and audits provides detailed information for driving continuous improvement.
Some specific areas for future work include:

• Improved analysis of data to identify continuous improvement opportunities.
• Improved training to assist sites in understanding the characteristics of operational discipline and evaluating their current level of performance.
• Further extension of operational discipline activities beyond PSM.