Occupational Safety

OMV aims to adhere to the highest standards to provide its employees and contractors with a safe workplace. This is not only a moral obligation but also necessary for seamless operations, without costly shutdowns or delays due to incidents.

Management and Due Diligence Procedures

Risk Assessments and Audits

Major risks and the respective mitigation measures are evaluated and monitored within the Enterprise-Wide Risk Management (EWRM) process, and documented in a Group-wide database (Active Risk Management System; ARMS). They are reported to top management twice a year or as necessary whenever issues arise. Senior management are directly involved in the review of risks identified as a top priority. Sites are audited regularly based on a Group-wide HSSE audit program. For example, in 2022 we had an HSSE Management System Audit in Petrobrazi and a process safety audit in Poiana Lacului.

Incident Reporting and Investigation

All employees and contractors are encouraged to bring any unsafe conditions and behaviors to the attention of line management in order for them to identify and resolve potential issues that might otherwise lead to future incidents or accidents. We acknowledge these suggestions for improvement submitted by employees and contractors locally.

All incidents, hazards, HSSE walks, audits, findings, and defined actions are reported and tracked within a central HSSE reporting tool (OMV Synergi). Online training is regularly organized via the My Success Factors learning platform to ensure the effective use of the tool, e.g., by highlighting the importance of the quality of data input.

Dashboards for the most significant HSSE data and relevant KPIs (e.g., LTIs, TRIs, HiPos, process safety events, and action status) have been set up and made available to various management levels Group-wide. Since 2016, all Tier 1 and Tier 2 process safety events have been transferred to our centralized reporting tool to enable trend analysis and sharing of findings from past events. Our aim here was to increase awareness of OMV Synergi entries to boost their quality and transparency, and to improve data owner account­ability.

We continued to investigate incidents and accidents using the knowledge of our incident investigator pool members and other technical experts. In 2022, we again trained more than 150 colleagues during a one-day incident investigation training session. This event was not only used for training but also for communicating experiences and findings from incident investigations across the Group. Our aim regarding incident investigation is to find the root causes of incidents and to carry out suitable and necessary measures to prevent the occurrence of more severe incidents in the future. In parallel, the focus remains on verifying the effectiveness of actions implemented in previous years after severe and high-potential incidents (HiPos), including process safety incidents. In this way, Synergi is updated with information about safety events that have happened over the last few years to help foster learning from past incidents. The incident investigation process has been further developed, and a subprocess to share HSSE information and promote our lessons learned as an organization has also been established. Our Incident Investigation Panel meets quarterly to obtain a clear overview of the whole process and to implement practical measures for its improvement.

Training, Awareness Raising, and Safety Promotion Activities

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

Education and training are important for informing workers and managers about workplace hazards and controls so they can work more safely and be more productive. For example, in 2022 we rolled out two training videos to the entire organization to address the risk of dropped objects and the risk of working next to high-voltage power lines. The videos include a test and follow-up session, during which feedback was provided on the training tests within the operational business units.

We believe that promoting an 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 initiating, 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 motivating and encouraging workers to improve their own safety. To concentrate on quality over quantity in terms of reporting, HSSE walks, safety walks, and action close-outs continued throughout 2022. In addition, efforts to make safety a top priority in the minds of employees were continued. More attention is focused on improving the HSSE walks and safety walks by encouraging open dialogue while they’re in progress. This promotes understanding of the challenges in the operating fields and increases trust between the workforce and management.

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 evaluation and capability audit, if needed. Once the contract terms are agreed and the contract is awarded, and before work begins at the site, we reinforce our expectations and requirements during kick-off meetings, HSSE induction, site specific training, and other joint meetings.

The presence of contractors at our sites is monitored around the clock using an electronic registration system (e.g., in the refineries) or paper sign-in system (e.g., attendance sheet, permit to work, and induction sheet). During the contract period, we monitor our contractors by way of audits, inspections, joint HSSE or safety walks, service quality meetings, forums, and workshops, using the outcomes to share information and encourage improvement of our HSSE performance as a team. To increase the awareness and knowledge of contract owners, contract holders, procurement staff, and HSSE experts regarding our Contractor HSSE Management Process, we have continued to deliver specific training explaining how HSSE requirements and tools are embedded in the source-to-contract process. In 2022, we also implemented an e-learning course about Contractor HSSE Management. We introduced a new e-learning program, held webinars, and delivered over 900 training sessions to more than 660 beneficiaries on the internal regulations framework. Contract owners, contract holders, and procurement staff were the main target group of these training sessions.

2022 Actions

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, and that had a positive impact. On April 28, 2022, we once again held an open online session with more than 300 participants from across the OMV Group to celebrate the UN World Day for Safety and Health at Work. We informed the participants about recent incidents and lessons learned, the Integrated Risk Register, and our progress on Life Saving Rules training. We also had a session on the prevention and management of work-related musculoskeletal disorders based on the Healthy Workplaces Lighten the Load campaign between 2020 and 2022. In addition, the OMV Life Saving Rules were updated and aligned with our colleagues at Borealis.

Despite these initiatives, in 2022 one contractor employee died while repairing a roof. In reaction to the fatality, we asked the local operations to provide detailed work methods to their contractors for better work preparation. In addition, the permit system for work executed by external contractors was improved in terms of approval and training.

The number of injured personnel also increased, among both our own employees and contractors. We therefore rolled out a Hazard Hunt campaign across the organization. Employees in all our locations were encouraged to report hazards and unsafe conditions and to develop potential actions for improvement.

 

Lost-Time Injury Rate

Per 1 mn hours worked

 

Total Recordable Injury Rate

Per 1 mn hours worked

 

Outlook

At OMV, we have traditionally had golden rules focused on safety practices and Life Saving Rules that were consistent across the Company. From 2023, we will follow the nine rules recommended by the IOGP to facilitate alignment with the contractors working on our sites. These rules were developed by IOGP in the last few years to highlight activities where most of the fatalities happen in our industry – like entering a confined space, lifting, or working at height. In 2022, we had for example a contractor falling through a roof at a Borealis site in France. He was not connected with a safety line as requested by a Life Saving Rule. A clear focus on improving the safety standards of these activities will reduce the likelihood of a fatal incident. There will also be fundamental requirements that address more general safety aspects, such as housekeeping and risk awareness. An extensive communication campaign with these updated rules will be launched at the beginning of 2023 to raise awareness among OMV Group employees.

Targets 2025

• Achieve a Total Recordable Injury Rate (TRIR) of around 1.0 per 1 mn hours worked
• Achieve zero work-related fatalities

Targets 2030

• Stabilize Total Recordable Injury Rate (TRIR) at below 1.0 per 1 mn hours worked
• Achieve zero work-related fatalities

Status 2022

• TRIR: 1.23 per 1 mn hours worked
• 1 fatality

Most relevant SDGs

SDG targets:
3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination
8.8 Protect labor rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment