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​WE GUARANTEE SAFETY IN OUR OPERATIONS



PROCESS SAFETY 

We guarantee safety in our operations by providing adequate conditions and reinforcing the prevention culture and healthy and safe behaviors.

The safety of our employees, contractors, customers and communities is a priority for us, and we accordingly work on preventing and mitigating risks in our processes.

We work every day to consolidate and promote a safety culture that will enable us to anticipate risks and hence to prevent accidents in our operation. 

 

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OUR MANAGEMENT​​

​​​​​​The organization has adopted a risk management approach to guaranteeing safe and healthy environments in all its operations, and this extends to all interested parties who interact with those operations. To achieve this, it sets out its commitments with each interest group in its corporate policy, and health and safety are an integral part of these commitments

Our process safety management is based on our strategic goal entitled “To guarantee a safe operation’. This goal includes the design, construction, operation and maintenance of gas pipelines, in line with national and international standards such as ASME B31.8. Our approach is based on risk management, since the Safety Management System is in line with the 20 process safety items established in the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) guide. In order to adhere to the provisions established in the Management System, we have a work plan for each management program relating to risks inherent in the natural gas transportation operation. 

All our companies have integrity plans, risk management plans, and 24/7 systems for monitoring the operation. Periodic audits are conducted, and improvement actions are established for mitigating any risks that might be found.  
There is a Health and Safety at Work system, which is based around three cornerstones: meeting applicable labor requirements, adhering to a voluntary international regulation under ISO 45001 standard, and implementing an international, risk-based process safety guide that includes the 20 items for a process safety management system established by the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS).

In 2018, we hired a firm that is an expert in process safety which, in its diagnosis, awarded Promigas a score of 80.4 per cent and highlighted the competence of our people and of the Management System for maintaining the integrity of our gas pipelines. Since then, we have drawn up a work plan aimed at closing the gaps and achieving a score of 100 per cent in a period of four years. 

In September 2020, we applied the tool for measuring maturity and progress levels in our process safety system, resulting in a score of 88 per cent and the highlighting of achievements such as implementing the operation preparation procedure for starting up new or modified facilities; the strength of the operating risk analysis procedure and administration of the change; implementing technical audits in the gas infrastructure; the updating of operating, maintenance and safety manuals; and training in areas classified at 90 per cent for Vice-Presidency, Operations technicians and professionals, with a view to reinforcing skills in order to guarantee a safe operation whenever the gas infrastructure is intervened. Each Management also has a number of process safety indicators, which are used for measuring the respective safety approach.      



The Health and Safety at Work Management System covers not only direct or temporary workers but also Promigas contractors. We have a formal process for identifying dangers and evaluating risks, and these are set out in a matrix, with the respective controls. 


They take into account safety inspections, behavior observations, interviews, consultation processes, field assistance for critical tasks, risk analyses, and audits. It is on the basis of these results that programs like Process Safety, High-Risk Tasks, Chemical Risk Management, Strategic Road Safety Plan and Epidemiological Surveillance are established.

Workers are encouraged to identify dangers and propose improvements as part of the Process Safety Improvements Program, which identifies findings in the natural gas infrastructure and proposes improvements, which are then analyzed by a committee and subsequently implemented.    

One commitment in the Promigas policy is to guarantee the health and safety of its workers, and it accordingly encourages them to work in safe conditions. Although everyone participates in identifying dangers associated with their respective post, we have a group of workers who have been trained as HSE leaders, and they make behavior observations in the field and propose improvement actions.

Our Health and Safety at Work Parity Committee and Labor Harmony Committee have a confidential ethics line, among other mechanisms, for protecting workers from possible reprisals.

They promote and supervises health and safety at work standards and regulations in the company. Responsibilities include inspecting workplaces, taking part in accident investigations, and supervising adherence to the Health and Safety at Work Program.      

There is a procedure for investigating accidents and incidents, which consists of summoning the investigation team and the worker involved, identifying the causes using recognized methodologies, and establishing plans of action for ensuring that such accidents or incidents do not occur again. 

The Industrial Safety and Process Training Plan and the Health at Work Plan are designed each year, and these establish matters relating to health and safety induction, process safety, safe work at heights, lifting heavy loads, dangerous energies, safe work in confined spaces, permit issuers, handling emergencies, dangerous atmosphere measurements, classified areas, chemical risk management, defensive driving, technical HSE session for contractors, COVID-19 protocols for preventing contagion, preventing osteo-muscular injuries, healthy lifestyles, and care schools, among others. 





​Employees and workers other than employees who are covered by this system are subject to internal audit and certification by a third party.



No accidents at work with major consequences associated with the aforementioned dangers were reported in the period covered by the report. In order to eliminate dangers or minimize risks, safety standards are followed when designing gas infrastructure and worksites, staff skills are ensured, and management programs and monitoring are implemented constantly.


 

COVID-19 CONTINGENCY

When the national government declared the health emergency, our Presidency issued a policy relating to home office and field work. 

The COVID-19 Mitigation and Prevention Measures Plan for working safely was established, with each of the respective protocols, including the fieldwork protocol, the protocol for entering facilities, the health protocol and the protocol for suppliers and contractors. All Promigas premises and facilities were adapted, with a view to mitigating the risk of COVID-19 contagion, and the actions undertaken included the following: 

  • Installing physical barriers at points of contact between internal and external publics; adapting, separating and installing physical barriers at dining room tables.
  • Installing portable washbasins; sanitizer dispensers.
  • Signposting, and determining the maximum number of people permitted in offices, other rooms and shared facilities.
  • Workers deemed critical to business continuity were given COVID-19 tests, and Industrial Safety increased assistance in the field, in order to verify that protocols to mitigate the COVID-19 risk were being adhered to.
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