Process Safety

 

In addition to these three key metrics and various leading indicators, other measurement tools are used to evaluate and improve Cabot's safety performance, including Process Safety.

Process Safety at Cabot focuses on the proactive identification and management of hazards associated with our manufacturing processes. It helps us fulfill our commitment to operating in a manner that protects our employees, contractors, neighbors, and the environment.

Since the early 1990s, employees at Cabot plants have regularly analyzed process hazards associated with key aspects of our operations. This comprehensive analysis enables us to take corrective steps to reduce the likelihood and/or consequences of those hazards. Our analysis begins at the R&D concept phase, continues through capital project planning and construction, and is regularly re-examined throughout the life of the process. Hazard analysis is a critical component of Cabot's ongoing risk reduction activities. Some of the key steps we have taken in Process Safety are:

• implementing a company-wide evaluation of all our process related risks are adequately controlled. As a result, we improved in other areas of performance, such as equipment reliability and uptime, operational efficiency, and product quality/consistency;

• developing an internal metric for Process Safety Events (PSE), including events such as significant fires, explosions, and leaks or releases. Full analysis of PSE, lessons learned, and corrective actions are shared globally with the entire network of Cabot facilities; and 

• applying the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) published standard criteria for process safety incidents, which provide consistency in reporting and measuring performance across the entire chemical industry and significantly improving our performance since 2007.