CASE STUDY N°1: Support to 60 Chemical Sites Worldwide
Project objective
To propose a breakthrough approach to upgrade 60 sites in the world (France, Spain, India, and China) to world-class criteria.
The company
A large chemical international company.
The background of the project
After numerous major accidents in the chemical sector, DP2i was asked to build a preventative approach breaking with the company’s existing safety practices and aiming for safety excellence.
Summary of DP2i main deliverables
- Detailed review of the existing risk management approach.
- Preparation of a project with a detailed schedule and resources allocation to succeed the transformation.
- Development of a Vade-Mecum/user manual, linking the company’s pre-existing approach with the new elements targeting the breakthrough and expected transformation achievement.
- Preparation of a self-assessment tool to position the sites against the expected transformation
- Delivering of Senior Management Seminars and site management training to explain and develop skills regarding the expected transformation
- Assessment of 60 critical sites and development of their improvement roadmap.
- Training of « project managers » responsible for deploying the approach
- Assistance in selecting an external audit firm responsible for confirming the actual implementation of the expected elements.
- Coaching of the corporate team responsible for reporting to the Executive Committee
Specificity of the project and DP2i Lessons learned
In a very sensitive chemical sector context, all management teams (Business, Country, and Sites) were convinced of the project’s necessity. Resource allocation met the challenge, and the project was completed on time and within the established budget.
The company’s culture evolved in two folds:
– The overconfidence in existing resources shifted into a risk culture (with a close monitoring of risk control measures, a clear supervision through systematic observations of « critical » operation (including on-site contractors), large scale emergency preparedness exercises, and reporting of abnormal conditions).
– The Audit programs (external or internal) turn from a constraint into a continuous improvement program, confronting sites with world-class criteria and making ISO certification a prerequisite rather than a final destination.