These are a set of basic principles for front line that emphasise existing good practices to prevent fatalities from process safety events.
By adopting the Process Safety Fundamentals, bp seeks to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, fatal and high severity process safety events. All personnel at bp sites should incorporate the relevant fundamentals into their daily operational activities, in support of and complementary to the IOGP’s Life-Saving Rules (LSR), which focus on personal safety.
On this page, you will find resources to help you understand what the Process Safety Fundamentals are and how they can empower the front line to speak up about process safety as we seek to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, fatal and high severity process safety events across our sites.
IOGP Report 638 - Process Safety Fundamentals
Explore IOGP Process Safety Fundamentals implementation resources
What do I need to do?
Familiarize yourself and your team with each of the fundamentals.
Understand how the fundamentals relate to you and your role.
Apply these fundamentals to your day-to-day activities.
Stop and speak up when a fundamental cannot be achieved.
Watch the video below for an introduction to the Process Safety Fundamentals at bp.
We respect hazards
We improve our understanding of process safety hazards at our location and our roles in controlling them
We are vigilant about the potential impacts of uncontrolled process safety hazards.
We discuss process safety hazards before starting a task.
We bring forward process safety hazards to be included in activity risk assessments.
How do we respect hazards?
Review and understand what process safety hazards you are potentially exposed to during your day-to-day activities.
Improve your understanding of the role you play in controlling these process safety hazards.
Discuss relevant process safety hazards with your team, before, during and after a task.
Speak up about process safety hazards when you have concerns.
On this page you will find resources to help you understand what the Process Safety Fundamentals are and how they can empower the front line to speak up, support effective risk management and safety improvements and prevent process safety events.
We apply procedures
We use operating and maintenance procedures, even if we are familiar with the task.
We discuss the key steps within a critical procedure before starting it.
We pause before key steps and check readiness to progress.
We stop, inform supervision, and avoid workarounds if procedures are missing, unclear, unsafe, or cannot be followed.
We take time to become familiar with, and practice, emergency procedures.
How do we apply procedures?
Verify that procedures are up-to-date, effective, and easy to use.
Follow up if concerns about a procedure are raised.
Become familiar with the plant, its equipment, and its procedures
Keep aware and informed of Emergency Response procedures?
We sustain barriers
We discuss the purpose of hardware and human barriers at our location.
We evaluate how our tasks could impact process safety barriers.
We speak up when barriers don’t feel adequate.
We perform our roles in maintaining barrier health and alert supervision to our concerns.
We use an approval process for operations with degraded barriers.
How do we sustain barriers?
Ensure that systematic barrier management processes are in place and that necessary resources are allocated to test and maintain barriers.
Implement approved risk reduction measures for degraded or failed barriers and restore barrier functionality as soon as practical.
Downloads
We stay within operating limits
We discuss and use the approved operating limits for our location.
We escalate where we cannot work within operating limits.
We alert supervision if an alarm response action is unclear or the time to respond is inadequate.
We obtain formal approval before changing operating limits.
We confirm that potential for overpressure from temporary pressure sources has been addressed.
How do we stay within operating limits?
Document SOL (Safe Operating Limit) for key process variables & make them visible to front line workers
Regularly check personnel knowledge & skills to stay within operating limits
Systematically investigate excursions outside SOL
Demonstrate through decisions that cost, production, or schedule does not override safety
We maintain safe isolation
We use isolation plans for the specific task, based on up-to-date information.
We raise isolation concerns before the task starts and challenge when isolation plans cannot be executed.
We check for residual pressure or process material before breaking containment.
We monitor the integrity of isolations regularly and stop to reassess when change could affect an isolation integrity.
We confirm leak-tightness before, during, and after reinstating equipment.
How do we maintain safe isolation?
Monitor isolation practice at your location & verify its effectiveness. Implement improvement where issues are identified.
Respond and follow up if isolation concerns are raised.
Regularly check that those performing isolations are effectively trained and supported
We walk the line
We use up to date documentation (e.g., Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams, or P&IDs) that accurately reflect installed systems and equipment.
We physically confirm the system is ready for the intended activity (e.g., valve positions, line up of relief devices, etc.).
We alert supervision to identified documentation and readiness issues before operation.
How do we walk the line?
Regularly confirm that process safety information is accurate and up-to-date
Discuss walk the line issues with front-line workers and follow up on concerns raised
Check that systems are in good condition and correctly set-up each time we start them up or make a significant change in their use.
Other resources
We control ignition sources
We identify, eliminate, or control the full range of potential ignition sources during task risk assessments and during job preparation and execution.
We minimise and challenge ignition sources even in “non-hazardous” areas.
We eliminate ignition sources during breaking containment and start-up and shutdown operations.
How do we control ignition sources?
Regularly check that personnel understand the full range of potential ignition sources and the requirements for ignition source control.
Control work risk assessments to evaluate the potential for flammable hazards even outside classified/zoned areas shown on the area classification drawing.
Report defects in electrical equipment to control potential ignition sources.
We recognise change
We look for and speak up about change.
We discuss changes and involve others to identify the need for management of change (MOC).
We review the MOC process for guidance on what triggers an MOC.
We discuss and seek advice on change that occurs gradually over time.
How do we recognise change?
Verify that systematic identification and management of change processes are in place and working effectively.
Ensure that workforce personnel and management are trained to recognise change.
Teams can review their local MOC process for guidance on what triggers their MOC process and discuss examples at their location.
We stop if the unexpected occurs
We discuss the work plan and what signals would tell us it is proceeding as expected.
We pause and ask questions when signals and conditions are not as expected.
We stop and alert supervision if the activity is not proceeding as expected.
How do we encourage workers to stop work if the unexpected occurs?
Positively recognise people who stop to re-evaluate a task if it is not going as planned.
Communicate to frontline workers that they should pause and seek guidance if an activity is not proceeding as expected.
Pausing or stopping a task may feel inconvenient at the time but keeping an activity on plan and under control will avoid incidents, keeping people safe, and supporting good business performance.
We watch for weak signals
We proactively look for indicators or signals that suggest future problems.
We speak up about potential issues even if we are not sure they are important.
We persistently explore the causes of changing indicators or unusual situations.
How do we watch for weak signals?
Be alert to weak signals and respond proactively when these signals are raised.
Do so, even if the signals seem weak/small/unimportant, so that they can be discussed and evaluated.
’Weak signals’ can be a vital opportunity to act early to avoid and accident, so it is important that they are persistently explored to understand the cause.
Disclaimer
bp is rolling out Process Safety Fundamentals at sites. Where applicable, everyone is expected to apply the relevant PSF to their activities, including bp employees and contractors. The material provided in this page is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to serve as training material, nor does it replace the safety training and requirements established by your own organization. Please ensure you refer to your organization's specific safety training and requirements.
