In this Insights episode of the Oil & Gas Journal ReEnterprised podcast, downstream editor and lead reporter Robert Brelsford concludes the conversation on process safety management with Joe Barnes, principal of Barnes’ Engineering Consultants and a veteran oil and gas operations, maintenance, reliability, and major-projects leader with more than 30 years of industry experience.

Barnes outlines five priorities for senior leaders and plant managers: maintaining strong operating procedures and management-of-change practices; routinely auditing lockout/tagout procedures; providing effective operator and supervisor training; and preventing deferred maintenance, particularly on critical equipment. He also emphasizes the importance of leadership visibility in the field, encouraging executives and plant managers to regularly engage with operating personnel and understand the condition of equipment and processes firsthand.

During the conversation, Robert and Joe examine the tension between profitability, market pressures, and the investments required to operate safely. Barnes explains why strong financial performance should support investment in equipment, maintenance, training, and people rather than encourage short-term decisions that could increase risk. He also discusses how management should evaluate efficiency measures, staffing changes, maintenance deferrals, turnaround modifications, and capital reductions while keeping process and personal safety central to decision-making.

The two consider how facilities can demonstrate that process safety systems are working in practice through dedicated internal audits, periodic third-party reviews, corrective-action follow-through, and the use of real-world incident scenarios in operator training. Barnes explains how investigation findings can be converted into case-based exercises that help workers recognize hazards, assess risks, and develop the right responses before returning to the field. He also recommends reviewing procedures, emergency-response plans, and process hazards periodically to help ensure they remain current and effective.

Robert and Joe further explore how leaders can create an environment in which employees and contractors feel comfortable reporting weak signals, near misses, and other bad news. Barnes argues that management must investigate reported concerns, respond visibly, and demonstrate that risk identification leads to action. He outlines immediate steps for strengthening process safety culture, including communicating clear and unwavering expectations, protecting critical maintenance, auditing what matters, rewarding the right behaviors, and improving workers’ understanding of process limits.

Barnes closes by emphasizing the importance of visible and consistent leadership, stronger communication of lessons between facilities, and treating process safety as a core operating requirement rather than a temporary investment. He also discusses the role of Barnes’ Engineering Consultants in developing training modules based on major incidents and offers a final reminder that technology and artificial intelligence can improve operations, but human care, judgment, and decision-making remain essential to preventing major incidents.

Reference

Elevating process safety above short-term profits ensures sustainable, long-term resilience, Joe Barnes, Barnes’ Engineering Consultants.