DNV is playing a leading role in process-industry safety developments in Victoria, Australia. Following an explosion at Esso’s Longford Gas Plant in 1998, Victorian industry must demonstrate high standards of safe operation through the proposed new Major Hazard Facilities Regulations, which employ the performance-based safety case approach rather than prescription. DNV is helping both the regulator and process operators to meet the new challenge.

Technical support to Royal Commission
A Royal Commission was set up to investigate the accident, to which DNV was asked to provide technical support. The technical investigation lasted six months and took 10 man-years of effort (a third by DNV). The DNV team, which was composed of highly qualified risk engineers from Australia, Singapore, U.S.A., the U.K. and Malaysia, worked intensively on every aspect of the accident and its causes. Says DNV Melbournes Dr Luke Chippindall, The Royal Commission provided a great opportunity to work with experts from a diverse range of disciplines. We are proud of the results the Commission achieved. Sir Daryl Dawson, chairman of the Royal Commission, and commissioner Brian Brooks, agree: The technical team was invaluable in bringing the Commission to what we believe to be a successful conclusion.

Findings and key lessons
The Commission found that knowledge management at the 30-year-old plant was a key deficiency. Several elements of the management system should have identified the possible circumstances/precursors, and had these been foreseen, the disaster might have been averted - or, at the least, the consequences considerably reduced. The Commission noted that one feature of the management structure was: its depth of engineering expertise and operational experience. The most powerful lesson from Longford is that a well-run facility, with a world-class safety management system, can still experience a major accident. How the safety management system failed and how risks should be recognised and prevented in the future are key lessons to be learned. The Commission highlighted: The lack of knowledge on part of both operators and supervisors was directly attributable to a deficiency in their initial or subsequent training. Not only was their training inadequate, but there were no current operating procedures to guide them in dealing with the problem which they encountered on 25 September 1998.

New regulatory regime
The Commission reported its findings in June 1999, and recommended that a new regulatory regime should be instituted to ensure that all operators of Major Hazard Facilities in Victoria are fully in control of potential risks and are able to demonstrate this through a Safety Case Regime. DNV is working with the regulator responsible for the new regime, the Victorian WorkCover Authority.

DNVs Dr Gary Kenney was working with the Royal Commission as Director of Technical Investigations, and is now senior advisor to the Government. He says: WorkCover is developing a goal-oriented regime that demonstrates the Governments commitment to safety, and will serve the State well into the next millennium. DNV is assisting WorkCover to develop strategies and policy, write regulations, and set up the organisation so that it can implement these regulations. A move to a Safety Case regulatory environment is now underway.

The approach is likely to be adopted by other Australian states, and a review of the existing Offshore Safety Case regime is planned. DNVs Risk Consultancy group in Melbourne is already working with a number of process operators, including Shell, Australian Vinyls Corporation, Qenos, PPG and Terminals, to incorporate all lessons learned into solutions which will meet both the regulatory requirements and the companies business needs.