AM-91-09 OPERATOR CERTIFICATION - A STEP TOWARD PROCESS SAFETY MANAGEMENT

Description:

Operator certification is the process of training, testing, documentation and continuing performance evaluation and testing to assure that process operators in critical jobs have the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to perform their work safely and effectively. Senior managers in the petroleum industry have increasingly recognized that training and certification efforts contribute significantly to the safe operation of the refineries. Therefore, they have become more involved in the process, and expanded the resources dedicated to the effort. This situation is especially true at Sun Refining and Marketing Company’s refinery in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. Operator certification is one step in the Yabucoa Refinery’s overall Process Hazard Management System. We did not approach the training and certification requirements of our PHM system as a one-time super developmental effort, and thereafter consider that it would be self-sustaining. PHM has to become a way of managing the facility, and the training efforts woven into the fabric of that system. For instance, the knowledge gained from process hazard analyses, incident investigations and operating and emergency procedures needs to be integrated into your training and certification requirements. As I proceed, you will see this relationship.