Lizzie Paton discusses process safety at TAQA, a UK-based energy company. She outlines TAQA's major accident hazards and its efforts to shape a strong process safety culture through training, educating workers on hazards, and ensuring safety systems are properly understood and effective. Paton stresses the importance of transparent data, testing systems, and challenging assumptions to maintain process safety.

1. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Lizzie Paton, Technical Safety Engineer, TAQAin the UK
Keeping the tiger in the cage
Intelligent Process Safety in the North Sea

2. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com 1
TAQA(pronounced ta-kah)~AbuDhabi
NationalEnergyCompany, basedintheUK
since2006. Currentlyemploys2,500 people
acrossaportfolioofownedassets.

3. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Our challenges
2
“We’ve always
done it this way.”
“I’ve been doing
this for 20 years
and haven’t
been hurt!”
“It doesn’t
apply to me.”
“Everywhere
you look
something
needs fixing.”

4. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Our licence to operate
UK regulation and legislation
• Rigorous Safety Cases for every asset
• Identification of safety critical elements
• Management systems operating to ALARP
• Duty of care to workforce
3

5. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
TAQA’s major accident hazards
4

6. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com 5
Shaping our safety culture

7. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com 6

8. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Understanding our limitations
7
o Alpha state – reduced awareness of dangers around us when
in ‘skilled mode’
o Conscious overload – our minds can only remember 7 (+/-2)
bits of information
o Internal optimism – believing ‘the myth’ that bad things only
happen to other people
o Environmental hypnosis – susceptibility to dangers in familiar
environments

9. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Looking out for each other training
…because we don’t have eyes in the back of our heads
8

10. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
After one year…

11. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Ask, ask and ask again…
1. Do we understand what can go wrong?
2. Do we know what our systems are to prevent this
happening?
3. Are we getting the right information to assure ourselves
these systems are working effectively?
10

12. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Do we understand what can go wrong?
11

13. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Do we understand what can go wrong?
12

14. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Our challenge to leaders
13
Testing the effectiveness of our systems

15. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Getting the basics right
14

16. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Educating the workforce
News reel video

17. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Hazard Awareness
16

18. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Do we know what our systems are to prevent this happening?
17

19. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Joining the dots and understanding our roles
18

20. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Culture ladder
19
atho ogica
ho cares as long as we re not caught
eacti e
afety is im ortant we do a lot every time we have
an accident
a c ati e
e have systems in lace to manage all ha ards
roacti e
e work on roblems that we still find
enerati e igh e ia i ity rgs
is how we do business round here
ncreasing trust
accountability
ncreasingly
informed

21. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Are we getting the right information to assure ourselves
these systems are working effectively?
20

22. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
Shaping our approach
21
“Prove to
me that it is
safe to run.”

“Justify why
it is not safe
to run.”

23. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com
To conc de…
22
• Process safety is everyone’s res onsibility
• Reinforce and repeat messages to change behaviours
• Gain transparency on your data and systems
• Never make assumptions

24. Keeping the tiger in the cage - Lizzie Paton www.taqaglobal.com 23