In 2014, Petroleum Service Corp. (PSC) kicked off a new safety initiative that's a bit like the "Hazard Recognition Olympics." To encourage employees to identify and report workplace hazards, PSC began giving $25, $150 and $500 cash awards to bronze, silver and gold "medalists" out of the top hazard recognition submissions each quarter.
Adapting a "see something, say something" approach to hazard recognition and reporting, employee participation has increased with each successive year of the initiative. In 2018, a total of 2,381 awards were presented to PSC employees working at more than 100 petrochemical, refining and midstream/terminal facilities in the U.S.
"Employee participation in the program is at an all-time high, with a 72-percent increase in hazard reporting last year," said Adam Gilmore, vice president of PSC. "The results have been excellent. Since kicking off the program, we've seen our total recordable injury rate steadily decrease to 0.25 in 2018. During the same time period, our company headcount increased by 50 percent."
Petroleum Service Corp. (PSC) Loader Payton Lewis, middle, recently won a $500 gift card for a workplace hazard he reported. He is pictured with PSC Supervisor Corey Copeland, left, and PSC HSE Manager Jimmy Stockton.
On marine barges and docks, the company's tankermen have also stepped up their efforts to find and mitigate hazards by submitting "near-miss" reports via an online incident reporting system.
"In 2016, our tankermen turned in 619 near-miss reports. That number increased to 1,749 in 2017 and more than doubled in 2018 to 3,624," said Josh Dixon, director of marine operations for PSC. "The tankerman mindset has shifted to finding the next hazard before it finds them, and that's made a huge impact on our safety and environmental performance."
"While we may never truly be able to measure how many injuries, spills and property damage events we have prevented, without a doubt, our hazard recognition efforts have significantly raised the safety focus throughout the entire company," Gilmore said.
Empowering, engaging employees
In addition to reporting real and potential hazards, PSC employees are trained to stop work if they feel conditions are unsafe.
"From day one, we tell employees that the choices they make on the job are the most important factors to working incident- free," said Dan LaPrairie, director of operational excellence for PSC. "We let them know that they have the authority, responsibility and accountability to stop work that they feel is unsafe."
PSC also has an interactive training program called "Tell Me" that encourages employees to be open to peer-to-peer coaching and intervention.
"Employees are trained to speak up and interact with their co-workers if they see someone taking risks or behaving in an unsafe manner," LaPrairie said. "Our employees wear 'Tell Me' stickers on their hardhats, and we emphasize how important it is to be your brother's keeper in achieving our goal to send everyone home safely at the end of the workday."
To get new employees fully immersed in the company's behavior-based safety culture, PSC has implemented a special program for each employee's first 90 days on the job. New employees are identified with an orange hardhat band and paired with an experienced employee who will serve as a trainer.
The trainee is given a pocket-sized booklet outlining safety-related tasks to be completed during the 90-day training program, like locating the nearest emergency showers, reviewing the site's emergency alert system, walking the evacuation route and identifying potential hazards in the area. The trainer and trainee work together to complete the tasks.
"The booklet includes some of the same information that we cover during new employee orientation, but this training format allows them to learn at their own pace and better retain the knowledge," LaPrairie said.
Another new training method PSC is employing with good results involves using "mini-plant models" of storage tanks, tank trucks and railcars. The models are rigged with all the relevant features of each component, from internal piping to functioning connection points, allowing employees to simulate various liquid product handling tasks using water.
Petroleum Service Corp. Loaders Carlos Hernandez, left, and Jose Garcia perform training exercises using tank car and storage tank "mini-plant" models.
"During our fundamentals training, we use the models and take employees through a series of exercises designed to help them personally experience some of the major lessons learned from our decades of liquid loading experience," LaPrairie said. "The clear tanks and load lines help to visualize flow effects and deepen their understanding of the processes."
Technological solutions for safer operations
PSC utilizes a custom-designed smartphone app to make it easier for tankermen on the go to access information about specific products, barges and work locations. The PSC app also allows tankermen to access the online reporting system for more timely submission of near-miss and incident reports.
PSC's marine operations team has also researched special phones approved for use in hazardous environments, to allow for communications without distractions.
"We've purchased some of these phones and are in the process of distributing them to our tankermen. These devices are limited in features; they do not allow for full internet access, and tankermen will only be able to make and receive calls to and from pre-programmed work-related numbers," Dixon said.
"However, these phones allow us to safely communicate with tankermen while they're working, to ensure they have all necessary information and instructions to perform their jobs and respond if needed in the event of an emergency."
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Thomas Milton, left, receives instruction from his Tankerman Career Academy instructor Danny Edwards during a training session on a barge on the Mississippi River.
New technology is also improving safety in PSC's rail switching operations, a particularly fast-paced and hazardous environment due to constantly moving trains. Video cameras mounted on the outside of locomotives are now being used to provide locomotive engineers with a clear view of blind spots. Camera systems have also been installed inside the locomotives to record the train movements and radio communications.
"We use the footage not only when investigating incidents but also for training purposes," LaPrairie said. "Because our supervisors can view video footage from any time period, day or night, it allows them more opportunities to spot and address problems or concerns."
The cameras have also helped address problems at railroad crossings.
"We've been able to provide evidence when our engineers have observed people driving through the plant in an unsafe manner," LaPrairie said. "At some of the sites where we work, we broadcast the live video on televisions set up in various areas throughout the site, giving us many more eyes watching the activity, to alert us if they see any unsafe behavior. This technology has just brought a whole new level of safety awareness to our rail operations."
The role of leadership
"Our safety programs are only as effective as those who lead them," Gilmore said. "That's why we invest heavily in operational leadership at the site level. We're committed to providing aroundthe- clock support and coaching for our field employees so they have the training and tools they need to succeed and deliver high-quality service to our customers."
Good leadership on the safety front also requires owning up to and learning from incidents when they happen.
"Our customers often tell us they appreciate the fact that we do not shy away from accepting responsibility when something goes wrong," Gilmore added. "We have worked to improve the depth and quality of our investigation processes, to better understand the true causes of injuries and incidents. We also share our lessons learned throughout the company so we don't repeat those mistakes."
For more information, visit www.petroleumservice.com or call (281) 991-3500.
