Nov. 24, 2005, 8:43AM
BP's own audit finds big lapses in management
The review done in the wake of the blast in Texas City cites 50 issues for leaders to addressBy ANNE BELLI
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
An internal BP audit that the company refused to make public for the last several months found widespread management and safety problems at its Texas City refinery in the wake of an explosion that killed 15 workers.
The June audit, ordered by BP after the March blast and released by the company Wednesday, discovered major lapses in leadership, risk awareness, compliance with safety policies and workplace conditions.
The scathing review was particularly surprising because 10 of the 17 audit team members were high-level managers at other BP refineries or corporate headquarters.
In refusing to let the Houston Chronicle see the audit three months ago, Texas City plant manager Colin Maclean called it a "family" report that was not intended for public consumption.
Also Wednesday, BP released a second report — an employee survey in which workers ranked "making money" as most important to management and "people" the least.
"Mainly saving money gets rewarded, that is it," one employee wrote in the survey. "There's a little bonus money and safety is a pat on the back."
That report, which BP also had previously said was confidential, was completed in January, just two months before the March 23 blast that also injured more than 170 people.
It was ordered by then-plant manager Don Parus, who wanted to know the "brutal facts" about employee attitudes after a fatal September 2004 accident, according to the report.
BP respondsPlaintiffs lawyers representing victims in the March accident have been fighting to make the two reports, as well as numerous other internal documents, public. The Chronicle and the Galveston County Daily News have joined in that effort.
BP spokesman Ronnie Chappell said the company was releasing the reports so that it can get on with the litigating and arriving at fair compensation for the victims.
"We do not believe that continuing to fight over public disclosure of documents already provided to plaintiffs is productive or helpful," he said in a statement.
"We cannot change the past or repair the damage this incident has done," he added. "But we are working to provide fair and reasonable compensation to people harmed by our mistakes without the need for lengthy court proceedings."
Still, the court proceedings regarding the public disclosure of documents had not been favorable to BP in recent weeks. Earlier this month, a state district judge ruled against the company and in favor of the newspapers, ordering it to make public 15 internal statements from BP employees interviewed after the blast.
Among the issuesSpecifically, the June audit identified roughly 50 issues that the Texas City refinery's managers needed to address. Among them:
•Plant leadership was not "connecting to the work force in a meaningful way."•While refinery procedures appeared sound, there was "inconsistent compliance" with them refinery-wide.•There was a general lack of awareness of risk.•Managers and superintendents are rotated out of their jobs so often that they sometimes never develop a deep understanding of the units they are overseeing.•Control rooms, likened to the cockpits of airplanes, are distracting, even containing television sets for board operators to watch while they're supposed to be overseeing process units.•There was a "deep-seated lack of respect for contractors" throughout the refinery, including violations of diversity and inclusion policies.•While unit upsets and accidents are recorded, there was little analysis to determine safety trends or patterns.•There was a pervasive lack of accountability among workers and managers.In the second report on employee attitudes, outside consultants the Telos Group found that workers hurt on the job often felt BP chose to blame the worker rather than look for deeper causes.
"After an incident, we add more detail to the procedure and fire the victim," wrote one.
Added another, "Once a safety incident occurs, Texas City reacts and manages it pretty well; what we do not manage is the circumstances leading up to the event. Most we do not recognize ... ."
Workers also expressed deep frustration at the condition of the refinery and what several called a lax attitude toward safety.
"At the end of the day, we are being asked to manage seat belts but disregard the things that can kill you," wrote one worker.
Not all negativeHowever, not all of the comments were negative toward BP. Nearly 92 percent said that their own commitments to safety had improved in the previous two years.
Jim Stanley, former deputy director of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration and chairman of the internal audit team, told the Houston Chronicle late Wednesday that he was impressed with BP management during the review, despite the many findings of lapses.
"BP is a stand-up company," said Stanley, now a private safety consultant. "We found a lot of good things at Texas City and some that needed to be addressed. They have excellent employees there and I was pleased with what we found. Any facility that I go into, there are going to be issues."
BP's Chappell said the company has worked to correct many of the deficiencies named in the report over the last several months.
"BP at Texas City has initiated action on the vast majority of the issues and recommendations in the Stanley Report," he said.
Union speaks outGary Beevers, Region 6 director of the United Steelworkers, said both reports provide further evidence that six workers who were fired in the aftermath of the March explosion were treated unfairly. The union has been trying to get the jobs back for those that were hourly workers.
"The employees are vindicated and they should be brought back to work," Beevers said.
Daniel Horowitz, spokesman for the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, said the board would consider the reports as part of their inquiry into the March accident.
anne.belli@chron.com
BP's own audit finds big lapses in management
The review done in the wake of the blast in Texas City cites 50 issues for leaders to addressBy ANNE BELLI
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
An internal BP audit that the company refused to make public for the last several months found widespread management and safety problems at its Texas City refinery in the wake of an explosion that killed 15 workers.
The June audit, ordered by BP after the March blast and released by the company Wednesday, discovered major lapses in leadership, risk awareness, compliance with safety policies and workplace conditions.
The scathing review was particularly surprising because 10 of the 17 audit team members were high-level managers at other BP refineries or corporate headquarters.
In refusing to let the Houston Chronicle see the audit three months ago, Texas City plant manager Colin Maclean called it a "family" report that was not intended for public consumption.
Also Wednesday, BP released a second report — an employee survey in which workers ranked "making money" as most important to management and "people" the least.
"Mainly saving money gets rewarded, that is it," one employee wrote in the survey. "There's a little bonus money and safety is a pat on the back."
That report, which BP also had previously said was confidential, was completed in January, just two months before the March 23 blast that also injured more than 170 people.
It was ordered by then-plant manager Don Parus, who wanted to know the "brutal facts" about employee attitudes after a fatal September 2004 accident, according to the report.
BP respondsPlaintiffs lawyers representing victims in the March accident have been fighting to make the two reports, as well as numerous other internal documents, public. The Chronicle and the Galveston County Daily News have joined in that effort.
BP spokesman Ronnie Chappell said the company was releasing the reports so that it can get on with the litigating and arriving at fair compensation for the victims.
"We do not believe that continuing to fight over public disclosure of documents already provided to plaintiffs is productive or helpful," he said in a statement.
"We cannot change the past or repair the damage this incident has done," he added. "But we are working to provide fair and reasonable compensation to people harmed by our mistakes without the need for lengthy court proceedings."
Still, the court proceedings regarding the public disclosure of documents had not been favorable to BP in recent weeks. Earlier this month, a state district judge ruled against the company and in favor of the newspapers, ordering it to make public 15 internal statements from BP employees interviewed after the blast.
Among the issuesSpecifically, the June audit identified roughly 50 issues that the Texas City refinery's managers needed to address. Among them:
•Plant leadership was not "connecting to the work force in a meaningful way."•While refinery procedures appeared sound, there was "inconsistent compliance" with them refinery-wide.•There was a general lack of awareness of risk.•Managers and superintendents are rotated out of their jobs so often that they sometimes never develop a deep understanding of the units they are overseeing.•Control rooms, likened to the cockpits of airplanes, are distracting, even containing television sets for board operators to watch while they're supposed to be overseeing process units.•There was a "deep-seated lack of respect for contractors" throughout the refinery, including violations of diversity and inclusion policies.•While unit upsets and accidents are recorded, there was little analysis to determine safety trends or patterns.•There was a pervasive lack of accountability among workers and managers.In the second report on employee attitudes, outside consultants the Telos Group found that workers hurt on the job often felt BP chose to blame the worker rather than look for deeper causes.
"After an incident, we add more detail to the procedure and fire the victim," wrote one.
Added another, "Once a safety incident occurs, Texas City reacts and manages it pretty well; what we do not manage is the circumstances leading up to the event. Most we do not recognize ... ."
Workers also expressed deep frustration at the condition of the refinery and what several called a lax attitude toward safety.
"At the end of the day, we are being asked to manage seat belts but disregard the things that can kill you," wrote one worker.
Not all negativeHowever, not all of the comments were negative toward BP. Nearly 92 percent said that their own commitments to safety had improved in the previous two years.
Jim Stanley, former deputy director of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration and chairman of the internal audit team, told the Houston Chronicle late Wednesday that he was impressed with BP management during the review, despite the many findings of lapses.
"BP is a stand-up company," said Stanley, now a private safety consultant. "We found a lot of good things at Texas City and some that needed to be addressed. They have excellent employees there and I was pleased with what we found. Any facility that I go into, there are going to be issues."
BP's Chappell said the company has worked to correct many of the deficiencies named in the report over the last several months.
"BP at Texas City has initiated action on the vast majority of the issues and recommendations in the Stanley Report," he said.
Union speaks outGary Beevers, Region 6 director of the United Steelworkers, said both reports provide further evidence that six workers who were fired in the aftermath of the March explosion were treated unfairly. The union has been trying to get the jobs back for those that were hourly workers.
"The employees are vindicated and they should be brought back to work," Beevers said.
Daniel Horowitz, spokesman for the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, said the board would consider the reports as part of their inquiry into the March accident.
anne.belli@chron.com
