With the regulations for Safety Case Regime kicking in from September 2017, all Major Hazards Installation (MHI) companies will be required to submit a Safety Case to demonstrate how risks from major accident hazards can be reduced to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP).
To provide better understanding to stakeholders about the Safety Case Regime, including key aspects of the Workplace Safety and Health regulation, a ‘Major Hazards Symposium’ was organised by SITLEARN Professional Development, Society of Loss Prevention (SLP), and NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i).
More than 110 industry professionals across 57 organisations attended the full-day symposium held on 28 July at SIT@Dover. The event was a good opportunity for participants to tap on the insights and expertise of industry practitioners and government agencies as they shared about process safety in business continuity, leadership and education. se Regime. Participants tapped on the insights and expertise of industry practitioners and government agencies as they shared on process safety in business continuity, leadership and education.
Process safety is a disciplined framework for managing the integrity of hazardous operating systems and processes. By applying good design principles, engineering and operating practices, incidents that lead to toxic exposure, fires or explosions may be prevented.
Said Professor Ho Yew Kee, Associate Provost (SkillsFuture and Staff Development), SIT in his opening address, “We are sitting at a time of unprecedented changes in technology, societal norms, economic uncertainties and everyday disruption in work processes. A symposium of this nature is a good platform for us to consider how we can do our work better by re-skilling. This is particularly critical in safety issues as one safety lapse will set a company or project back significantly.”
Prof Ho Yew Kee, Associate Provost (SkillsFuture and Staff Development), SIT addressing the audience.
Mr Gilbert Tan, Assistant Director-General, NTUC and CEO, e2i spoke on the importance of workplace safety and why workers need to better prepare themselves. “While the probability of a major incident at an MHI is generally low, the aftermath can be disastrous. Ensuring the safety of MHIs is therefore vital, both to our economy as well as to our workers. Thus, there is a need to build up technical know-how of MHI personnel for this new regime.”
Mr Gilbert Tan, Assistant Director-General, NTUC and CEO, e2i, stressed the importance of raising safety standards at the international level.
Keynote speakers Er. Go Heng Huat, Director, Major Hazards Department, Ministry of Manpower (MOM) gave an overview of the Safety Case journey and regime while Er. Lucas Ng, General Manager, Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore provided the industry's perspective on ‘Process Safety in Respect to Business Continuity’.
Keynote speaker Er. Go Heng Huat, Director, Major Hazards Department, MOM sharing on the Safety Case Regime.
Keynote speaker Er. Lucas Ng, General Manager, Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore, spoke on Process Safety in Respect to Business Continuity.
Other speakers at the symposium included representatives from Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore Refining Company, Society of Loss Prevention and SIT. Ms Jaime Lim, Acting Deputy Director, Major Hazards Department, MOM rounded up the symposium by highlighting the key takeaways for MHIs to appoint Safety Case lead and commence on their Safety Case preparation.
The symposium also saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between e2i, SLP and SIT, to promote joint training and developmental activities aimed at building a pool of skilled professionals with knowledge in process safety, as well as creating upskilling opportunities for those from process and related industries.
The signatories of the MOU (seated L to R): Ms Vicky Wong, Deputy CEO, e2i; Prof Ho Yew Kee, Associate Provost (SkillsFuture and Staff Development), SIT; and Mr Linus Lin, Vice President, SLP. Witnesses (standing L to R): Mr Gilbert Tan, Assistant Director-General, NTUC and CEO, e2i; Prof Loh Han Tong, Deputy President (Academic) and Provost, SIT; and Mr Teng Chong Seng, President, SLP.
What The Attendees Say:
“Timely dissemination of a major regulatory change in WSH.”
– Yong Yoon Chong, Singapore Institute of Power and Gas
“A great platform to learn from practitioners and listen to insights from regulators.”
– Solomon Lee, GSK
“All topics are very relevant, insightful and timely, in the wake of Safety Case Regime preparation; a refreshment and reminder of the importance of process safety, to both plant operations and business continuity in particular.”
– Leonard Chong, Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore
