Occupational safety management

OMV aims to adhere to the highest standards to provide its employees and contractors a safe workplace. Our Safety Management System is based on the OMV Group’s HSSE Policy, the HSSE Directive, and corporate regulations, such as HSSE Risk Management, Contractor HSSE Management, Management of Hazardous Substances, Personnel Transportation, and Reporting, Investigation, and Classification of Incidents, which provide the framework for safety management.  19% of OMV sites, including all three refineries, have been certified to OHSAS 18001/ISO 45001.

We establish feasible and viable mitigation measures to prevent accidents and to minimize the negative impact on people and the environment when incidents occur. Our regulations stipulate mandatory risk assessments for non-routine work, any changes, and projects as well as regular reviews of the risk assessments of existing installations and Last-Minute Risk Analysis (e.g., in the course of toolbox meetings) prior to every job.

The Major Accident¹Major Accident refers to an incident involving an explosion, fire, loss of well control, release of oil, gas, or dangerous substances, serious damage to the installation or connected infrastructure, involving or with a significant potential to cause fatalities or serious personal injury or environmental damage within a large area outside the boundaries, as well as any other incident leading to fatalities or serious injury to five or more persons. Prevention Policy, which is part of the HSSE Directive, sets out the overall aims and guidelines for controlling the risk of a major accident as part of OMV Group operations and activities for achieving those aims. Acknowledging that the risks of major accidents in onshore or offshore operations related to oil and gas extraction, transportation, refining, and distribution activities are significant, and recognizing that such major accidents can have severe consequences for the environment and affected persons, OMV firmly believes that a strong safety culture is the foundation for all of its operations and relationships with contractors.

Major risks and the respective mitigation measures are evaluated and monitored within the Enterprise-Wide Risk Management (EWRM) process, documented in a Group-wide database (Active Risk Management System; ARMS) and reported to top management biannually or on an ad-hoc basis whenever issues arise. Senior management is directly involved in the review of risks identified as a top priority.

In 2019, we focused on updating the information related to OMV operated assets with the potential for Major Accident Events (MAEs) in ARMS. Special emphasis was placed on facilities that are regulated by (or meet the criteria of) the Seveso III Directive of the European Union (the Directive on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous chemical substances) and on high-risk pipelines, flowlines, and high-risk wells. We also included facilities in non-EU countries which meet the criteria of the Seveso Directive. Operational integrity assessments and barrier reviews were conducted for these facilities. These assessments not only audited the suitability of existing barriers that are critical for preventing and/or mitigating the impact of a Major Accident Event but also assessed the effectiveness of process safety management implementation. A similar approach will continue in 2020 for assessing other critical facilities in the OMV Group which include, but are not limited to, offshore-operated assets, refineries, operated tank farms, etc. The overall goal is to prevent major accidents and limit the consequences of any accidents that may occur, in line with HSSE’s Vision of “ZERO harm – NO losses.”

In line with the HSSE Directive, clear roles and responsibilities are defined for all staff, line management, and senior management. Line management is responsible for ensuring that HSSE issues are integrated into all business decisions and activities. They are required to demonstrate commitment and leadership by acting as role models and undertaking appropriate measures to control and manage all HSSE risks in their spheres of responsibility.

All staff is required to be familiar with the HSSE Policy, internal HSSE regulations, and the relevant legislation. They actively contribute to and further develop HSSE awareness as part of the corporate culture, stop and report unsafe or irresponsible acts and conditions, and report any incidents and non-compliance. OMV employees at all levels are regularly trained on their roles and responsibilities. Moreover, our Life Saving Rules are presented and discussed regularly during awareness programs, workshops, management walk-arounds and safety walks, and even at the start of various meetings.

We have a central HSSE reporting tool in place where all incidents, findings, and defined actions are reported and tracked. Over many years, our aim was to increase awareness regarding entries into this reporting tool to boost their quality, create transparency, and improve data owner accountability. Various types of reports are available and regularly distributed in order to create an informed basis for managing HSSE and decision-making.

During 2019, 106,231 (2018: 101,889) unsafe conditions and behavior reports were collected in our reporting system.

All employees and contractors are encouraged to bring to the attention of line management unsafe conditions and behaviors in order to identify and resolve potential issues that might otherwise lead to future accidents. We acknowledge – locally and at Group level – these improvement opportunities raised by employees and contractors.

In 2019, we continued to organize training sessions for 96 persons as Investigation Team Leaders, involving a third-party specialized company to provide them with the necessary information. The aim is to ensure that our Company has skilled and knowledgeable people available to find root causes and establish suitable and necessary measures to prevent the occurrence of severe incidents or incidents with a high potential for loss.

We continued integrating technical experts into the investigation teams to better understand and address the root causes of technically complex incidents. At the same time, we remained focused on verifying the effectiveness of actions implemented after severe incidents and High-Potential Incidents (HiPos) in previous years, including process safety incidents.

We used a common HSSE platform to ensure Group-wide sharing of knowledge and takeaways from incidents. A complete collection of case studies and information on incidents from Upstream and Downstream since 2013 is available at Group level for use and communication during safety moments, in toolbox talks, or at HSSE trainings.

We believe that promoting open dialogue and establishing a culture in which health and safety are integrated into every employee’s role are effective ways to empower people to work safely. Workers are engaged in launching, implementing, evaluating, and improving health and safety programs. They work closely with their managers to find joint solutions to common problems, which helps managers pinpoint issues, while workers are motivated and encouraged to improve their own safety. In 2019, 180 formal joint health and safety committees comprising management and worker representatives were organized at OMV Group sites.

Education and training are important tools for informing workers and managers about workplace hazards and controls so they can work more safely and be more productive.

Training topics are defined in part based on an analysis of the incidents’ root causes and contributing factors, as well as findings from various HSSE assessments. During 2019, we organized awareness trainings as well as trainings on HSSE roles and responsibilities, hazard identification, and controls. Some of the sessions covered work permits, gas testing, hydrogen sulfide, and hazardous substances, as well as hazards with the potential for serious consequences (such as work at height, excavations, lifting operations, transportation). Awareness on process safety topics was enhanced through the use of computer-based training modules.

A quarterly Petrom Safety Committee meeting and, later on, a quarterly Environmental Committee meeting began to be held regularly at OMV Petrom Board level in order to analyze HSSE-specific performance and projects and define actions to continuously improve HSSE performance.

In 2019, the Lost-Time Injury Rate (LTIR)²See Definitions for details for our own employees and contractors (combined) per 1 million hours worked was 0.34 (2018: 0.30). Our combined Total Recordable Injury Rate (TRIR)³See Definitions for details was 0.95 (2018: 0.78).

We continued to concentrate on quality over quantity in terms of reporting, management walk-arounds, safety walks, and action close-out as well as putting our efforts toward bringing safety closer to the hearts and minds of our colleagues. We are focusing more attention on improving our management walk-arounds and safety walks through development of an open dialogue during these, which promotes understanding of the challenges in the operating fields and increases trust between the workforce and management. In this respect, a dedicated number of walk-arounds and safety walks were performed with coaching or in pairs made up of an experienced and a less experienced colleague.

In our operations, we recognized safe behavior and good safety practices to improve the relationship between the workforce and management and to encourage safe behavior in a positive manner. For example, we rewarded good safety practices observed on the spot with vouchers, recognized individuals and teams during quarterly site visits in Refining, organized forums and periodical management meetings in Upstream, and conducted dedicated recognition events, such as the Petrom Annual Safety Excellence Award.

In Upstream, we conducted audits to check compliance with the work permit system in all OMV Petrom Upstream assets. At the same time, we effectively communicated the Life Saving Rules across all MEA countries through extensive Aware Care Talks with own employees and contractors’ employees in order to improve daily adherence to these. In Downstream, we launched a pilot for a new electronic permit to work, which will increase the efficiency of the process.

Focus on contractor safety

The safety of our contractors is just as important as the safety of our own employees. For this reason, we have established processes that require contractors to work according to our standards.

Our Contractor HSSE Management Process begins when we issue the scope of work with information about HSSE requirements and the HSSE Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The process continues through the tender stage with the HSSE prequalification and capability audit. Once the contract terms are agreed and the contract is awarded, before starting work on site, we reinforce our expectations and requirements during HSSE induction, site-specific trainings, and common meetings. During the contract, we monitor our contractors by way of audits, inspections, joint safety walks, service quality meetings, forums, and workshops, using the outcomes to share experience and encourage improvement of our HSSE performance as a team.

In 2019, we continued to integrate contractor organizations into our HSSE audit program and to organize the service quality meetings with key contractors on a quarterly basis, making HSSE an important part of the agenda. In addition, our strengths and weaknesses in HSSE management in our relationships with our contractors and suppliers were discussed during the annual strategic supplier meetings organized by Procurement, as well as in various forums and workshops.

Based on the gap analysis performed in 2018, we issued a new Contractor HSSE Management Standard in 2019. The standard defines the minimum requirements for integrating HSSE issues into all phases of the contract life cycle and into the contractor management process. The standard aims to define a standardized process for the HSSE management of contractors, from selection through contract close-out.

Safety promotion activities

In 2019, we continued to run the Group-wide Safety Culture Program with the main goal of driving change and striving for the best in an environment where safe behavior is a prerequisite for good safety performance.

Protect your and your colleagues’ lives

We held three HSSE café sessions at our headquarters in Vienna, one for celebrating the “World Day for Safety and Health at Work,” one for promoting the Life Saving Rules, and one on Carbon Management. During these sessions, staff had the opportunity to refresh their knowledge of safety in the head office. We continued the campaign on promoting the use of handrails to encourage safety on stairs and to visibly show commitment to our safety culture.

At OMV Petrom headquarters, various campaigns and events were developed and organized with the main purpose of raising awareness of safety as our first priority. We rolled out the Life Saving Rules at Petrom City through posters, stickers, and an animated training video. We also organized the “Be a Survivor!” road safety campaign and held a “Setting the Tone in Petrom City” event led by OMV Petrom’s CEO.

The implementation of the Life Saving Rules continued at the operational sites across the entire Group through trainings and workshops, such as “I ACT” in the countries of the Middle East and Africa region, “Protect Your and Your Colleagues Lives!” at OMV Petrom Downstream, and others.

Based on the takeaways from last year’s pilot project launched at Romania’s Upstream Asset IX, we conducted the same activities to further integrate the Safety Culture Program into operations at all OMV Petrom Upstream assets. Local employees from various disciplines were organized into working groups assigned to improve implementation of defined Life Saving Rules and to ensure safe behaviors related to those rules in the areas of gas testing, lifting operations, electrical and mechanical isolations, work permits, and others. The teams of multipliers, i.e., employees disseminating the knowledge and skills received in information sessions, were expanded. They continued to train and coach other coworkers and contractors in the field on recognizing hazards and assessing risks on the job.

A dedicated training session for frontline managers was launched at OMV Petrom Upstream and workshops were held with the leadership team at OMV Petrom Downstream to improve safety leadership skills.

The safety culture assessment was extended to other operating sites in New Zealand, Serbia, and Moldova, and to OMV Petrom Aviation.

In early 2019, we cascaded defined actions and targets related to implementation of the Safety Culture Program into all local HSSE plans. The following defined actions and targets were successfully implemented and achieved:

• HSSE walk-arounds, safety walks, and dialogues on site were performed at all sites in accordance with our plans. Some of these involved coaching in order to improve the quality of communication.
• Hazard awareness activities were developed and implemented in accordance with the specific needs of the sites.
• The close-out rate for actions arising from (or related to) level 3+ incidents and HiPos was 97.8% vs. the >80% target.

All of these activities and related indicators were monitored and evaluated on a quarterly basis.