Dean Maniatis, manager of health, safety and environment for refining at Phillips 66, is a 43-year veteran of the industry and knows more than a thing or two about staying safe.
Because of his extensive experience in the "wilderness" of HS&E, Maniatis has culminated principles, ideas and philosophies to help navigate the issues that arise in the field in what his colleagues termed the "Book of Dean."
Speaking at AFPM's 2021 National Occupational & Process Safety Conference, Maniatis offered a "raw, unfiltered" conversation on the important aspects of HS&E, including the vital importance of the HS&E professional's role in safety.
"As HS&E professionals, there isn't anything cooler or more noble than saying, 'We're protecting people. We're protecting our environment. We're protecting our communities.' What better career could you have?" Maniatis posed. "The problem is you will never know what you've protected or what injury you've prevented."
Maniatis recalled that as a young professional, he "didn't know anything" but now he has gained a great deal of knowledge from his experiences.
"I used to do stupid things ⦠Ultimately, I was a safety knucklehead," Maniatis asserted.
He called HS&E the "art and science of dealing with knuckleheads" because people are the integral part of the profession. According to Maniatis, when he first entered the industry, injury rates were 50-times higher than today's rates. He said that in four decades, it was a matter of "working hard" that changed those statistics, and there is no magic switch.
"We influenced, and we worked. We were in the towers and the trenches," he said. "We did all these things to make it safer, and I'm proud of that. And you should be proud of the work you're doing."
Tips and tools of the trade
Even after 43 years, Maniatis attests he is still learning something new every day.
"If you're not learning something every day where you're at, you're not looking hard enough," he said.
Continuing to learn from mistakes and past occurrences is something every organization should be doing.
"As we get a new age of workers in our facilities, it's getting harder and harder to take all the learnings we've accumulated over the years and transmit them to this new workforce that hasn't had some of the experiences we've been through."
Maniatis is a firm believer that "culture eats strategy for breakfast," and he explained that even with incredible safety strategies, the right culture can make or break the strategy. Having leaders who drive, believe and support the HS&E professionals helps progress the safety strategy.
Being transparent is also important to a site's safety culture because front-line workers value transparency and commitment. Following through and "doing what you say you're going to do" are also keys to fostering culture.
"There's nothing more important," Maniatis said.
One industry-wide HS&E change that Maniatis has noted is that in the past, safety professionals attempted to prevent everything. Now, there is a realization that failures can happen because everyone is human, he said. Shifting one's mindset to "safeguards" is key to continuing to keep workers safe.
"We need to start thinking about safeguards, not just about preventing mistakes," he asserted. If a mistake happens, there should be a number of safeguards already in place to help prevent a catastrophe, he added.
On the whole, people want to be safe and make good decisions, Maniatis said. However, things eventually "line up" where mistakes are likely to occur, and the job of an HS&E professional is to find the safeguards to mitigate the risks of incidents.
The HS&E professional is more than someone who prevents safety incidents. Maniatis called them advocates, mentors and leaders, and said the knowledge they must possess to do their jobs well is extensive.
"It's incredible how many hats we have to wear, and what we have to know to be effective," he said.