NEB Delivers on Commitment to Release a Draft Safety Culture Framework and Definition

For immediate release
31 October 2013

NEB Delivers on Commitment to Release a Draft Safety Culture Framework and Definition

CALGARY – The National Energy Board (NEB or the Board) today released a discussion paper titled Advancing Safety in the Oil and Gas Industry: Draft Safety Culture Framework. The NEB will be seeking comments from the public and industry on this body of work until January 30, 2014.

The NEB, the Canada Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board worked together to propose a common draft Safety Culture definition and a framework. This body of work was developed to promote learning and a shared understanding of the emerging discipline of Safety Culture across the oil and gas sector in Canada. It is also intended to express the NEB’s expectations of its regulated companies to build and sustain a positive Safety Culture.

“As federal regulators of the oil and gas industry we considered it important to have consistent expectations of regulated companies when it came to Safety Culture,” said Gaétan Caron the Chair and CEO of the National Energy Board. “With strong, well-implemented management systems and a safety culture that permeates every aspect of the organization, the goal of zero incidents can be a reality.”

The Board began exploring how to advance Safety Culture in the oil and gas industry back in 2011. Since that time, the NEB has consulted extensively with international experts on the topic of Safety Culture, including Dr. Mark Fleming from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, in order to gain a fuller understanding of what a healthy Safety Culture looks like in practice. The Board also recently amended its National Energy Board Onshore Pipeline Regulations to include requirements for management system processes designed to support the development and maintenance of a healthy Safety Culture for NEB-regulated companies.

In addition, the NEB recently released its 2013 Safety Forum Report, in which it outlined the concrete actions it is committed to take in order to move forward in achieving the goal of zero incidents. This includes:

• Undertaking a public consultation on safety culture in order to develop a clear definition, attributes and indicators;
• Developing guidance intended to improve the prevention of catastrophic events;
• Improving how Canadians get the regulatory information they want and need;
• Setting a path for continual improvement through collaboration with other regulators, and reporting on safety and enforcement tools the Board has recently implemented such as Administrative Monetary Penalties.

Comments and questions on the Draft Safety Culture Framework may be submitted to the NEB until 30 January 2014 using the following methods:

• Email: safetyculture@neb-one.gc.ca

• Mail: Safety Culture Consultation
  Attention: Claudine Bradley
  National Energy Board
  444 Seventh Avenue SW
  Calgary, Alberta
  T2P 0X8

• Fax: 403-292-5503 or 1-877-288-8803 (toll free)

The National Energy Board is an independent federal regulator of several parts of Canada’s energy industry with the safety of Canadians and protection of the environment as its top priority. Its purpose is to regulate pipelines, energy development and trade in the Canadian public interest. For more information on the NEB and its mandate, please visit www.neb-one.gc.ca.

– 30 –

For further information:

Rebecca  Taylor
Communications Advisor
National Energy Board
E-mail: rebecca.taylor@neb-one.gc.ca
Telephone: 403-299-3371
Telephone (toll free): 1-800-899-1265
Facsimile: 403-292-5503
Facsimile (toll free): 1-877-288-8803
TTY (Teletype): 1-800-632-1663

Related documents:

• Advancing Safety in the Oil and Gas Industry – Draft Safety Culture Framework
• Frequently Asked Questions – Advancing Safety in the Oil and Gas Industry: Draft Safety Culture

NT3