Safway refinery teams awarded

Four Safway Group refinery crews were presented with the Merit Safety Award from the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) association during the National Occupational and Process Safety Conference, which took place in May.

The AFPM association awards program was developed by the trade association’s health and safety committee to promote safe work practices in the refining and petrochemical manufacturing industries, and among as the contractors supporting them.

The four Safway Group refinery crews awarded are:

• Valero Benicia Refinery, Benicia, Calif. - worked 50,581 hours with zero recordables
• Phillips 66 Alliance Refinery, Belle Chase, La. - worked 158,899 hours with zero recordables

• Tesoro Refinery, Bellingham, Wash. - worked 105,000 hours with zero recordables
• BP Cherry Point Refinery, Blaine, Wash. - worked 160,000 hours with zero recordables

In order to receive this safety award work crews had to accomplish an employee total recordable incident rate of 0.6 or less at their worksite for the entire calendar year 2013. In addition, there could be no Process Safety Event (PSE) that resulted in days away from work, a restricted/transferred crew member, fatality of a third-party or officially declared community evacuation or shelter-in-place.

“We are really proud of this accomplishment. Over the past year Safway has reduced its recordable injuries in US refineries by more than 70%. These awards recognize our outstanding refinery crews and their dedication to safety,” said Gary Duncan, west division president, Safway.

“All accidents are preventable,” added Jeff McDermott, project manager for Valero Benicia Refinery. “By emphasizing the importance of the Jobsite Hazard Analysis as the first and most important tool, we have raised a heightened focus on hazard prevention. We also host frequent in-house audits and provide constant feedback to our workforce. This ensures the established safety process remains functioning at a high level. Employee involvement and commitment to this process are crucial to our safety success. As a result of our safety and communication efforts, we have empowered our crews to provide a safe work environment for themselves, and those that work around them.”