Shell Geelong Refinery Manager, Huck Poh, said the ESMS licence was granted in recognition of the refinery’s high degree of commitment towards electrical safety management on-site, and the maturity of its management systems.
“We are extremely proud of our Electrical Safety Committee which is demonstrating a new maturity in industry by working with ESV to provide a voice into the local industrial community,” said Huck.
“We will not only celebrate this current success but use it as the basis for continued growth and development in the future.
“Nothing is more important to us than the safety and security of our employees and neighbours, and we put an enormous amount of effort into identifying and minimising any risks associated with our operations. This commitment has seen continual improvements in safety performance, with the refinery achieving its best ever performance in 2005,” he said.
Parliamentary approval enables ESV to grant an Operator’s Licence under the Electricity Safety (Management) Regulations 1999. Energy Safe Victoria’s Executive Manager, Electrical Installation and Equipment Safety, Darren Margerison, said the refinery joins a number of other major operations that were granted approval to operate their own ESMS under the previous regulatory
regime.
“Shell Geelong Refinery’s approval from ESV came after a rigorous inspection and assessment process lasting about three years,” said Darren.
“A company seeking to establish an ESMS must demonstrate how it proposes to meet or better the safety outcomes and objectives of the Electrical Safety Act 1998. The refinery’s ability to demonstrate this was validated rigorously by an independent auditor, David Challis, from Challis International,” he said.
Shell’s ESMS covers all electrical maintenance works at the Geelong refinery and Lara LPG Terminal. ESMS performance is internally monitored regularly and reported to the Refinery Leadership Team. Detailed quarterly updates will be provided to ESV. ENDS
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