Construction safety management for contractors

In order to enhance construction safety among contractors, FPG makes it mandatory for workers hired by contractors to undergo safety and health training conducted by FPG before entering the site. Additionally, FPG requires contractors to hold daily toolbox meetings with all operators before work commences, take the attendance of construction workers, check and confirm workers' mental status, remind workers of work-related precautions, coordinate work-related matters, and raise awareness using exemplary cases, so as to ensure work safety.

With a view to supervising construction safety among contractors, FPG has added the position of "Safety Supervisor," who are required to undergo five days of professional training and a rigorous certification process before officially holding the position, so as to ensure the safety of construction workers.

In addition to internal safety and health training, we also organize the "Standard Safety and Health Operation Observation Tour" in collaboration with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Ministry of Labor (OSHA), which enables officers from competent authorities, contractors, and employees at FPG to exchange ideas and opinions on the safety and concepts of various construction operations as well as acquire exemplary cases and outstanding technologies from experts and peers, so as to improve safety and health management standards.

With the intention of aligning with international standards and practices, FPG implements a series of measures, including collecting good management practices or techniques from industries at home and abroad for comparison and improvement; actively establishing contact with professional teams at home and abroad, such as inviting the Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center (MKOPSC) from the Texas A&M University to provide guidance on process safety management (PSM) and IHS Markit from the U.S. to provide guidance on process hazard analysis (PHA); organizing workplace safety seminars, observation tours, and emergency response drills in collaboration with local competent authorities; and sending firefighters to local professional fire safety training units for live fire training, in order to acquire knowledge in various professional fields, thereby improving safety and health management techniques at FPG.

On the other hand, in order for FPG to further enhance the effectiveness of PSM in recent years and internalize it into our safety values and culture, FPG officially entered into a "Safety Partnership" with the OSHA to improve workplace safety management in terms of system and implementation, as well as establish a new image of industrial safety in FPG's Mailiao Industrial Park. This program not only sets workplace safety goals (KPIs) as its direction, but also initiates and advances enhanced measures for fire and chemical leakage prevention management, implements health management and work environment measurement, carries out PSM and enhances PHA, as well as improves the quality of operations such as job safety analysis (JSA) and management of change (MOC), thereby strengthening the occupational safety and health management system as well as risk and process safety management through practice. In 2019, FPG and the OSHA jointly organized the "Safety Partnership Program and Outcome Observation Tour," which not only introduced the achievement of this program, i.e. a 50% reduction in the number of major occupational accidents, fires, and pipeline leakages in the park compared to the average five years ago, but also shared the practical experiences of FPG and our companies in promoting PSM, thus earning praise from our peers at home and abroad. Moreover, FPG organized the "International Process Safety Forum" at our Mailiao Industrial Park," which was co-hosted by the OSHA and the General Administration Department at FPG. Domestic peers, academic institutions, and companies under FPG were invited to attend this forum, in which local and foreign PSM experts, professors from occupational safety and health departments in local and foreign universities, as well as managers from insurance companies and the four major companies under FPG exchanged ideas and opinions on PSM-related issues, with a view to sharing our achievements in safety promotion with the industry and passing on our experience.

Process safety management (PSM)

In recent years, FPG has initiated and promoted the 14 elements of PSM across the group in accordance with the regulations of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. As of now, our plants in Taiwan have appointed 240 PSM specialists at all levels, whereas our plants in Mainland China and Vietnam have appointed 90 and 60 related personnel, respectively. These specialists are responsible for promoting, managing, and controlling PSM management at various departments, as well as ensuring the quality of PSM while formulating stringent inspection contents to conduct audits on the integrity of the 14 elements of PSM at all process plants (departments). Additionally, FPG organizes the "PSM Exchange and PSM Personnel Conference" on a regular basis every six months to facilitate exchanges on PSM within the group and improve the quality of PSM across all departments. In the meantime, we also conduct training courses on the concept of PSM for process plant (department) managers and section chiefs.

In order to ensure the quality of PSM and related performance at all process plants (departments), the President's Office at each company under FPG conducts two PSM audits on each process plant (department) every three years. Meanwhile, the General Administration Department has carried out joint PSM audits along with the relevant functional units since 2015, where deficiencies identified during the audits and recommended improvements are submitted to each company and plant (department) under inspection for further action, so as to improve the quality of PSM at each process plant (department). Furthermore, FPG commissioned an external impartial third-party body comprising local experts from the academia and officers from the relevant government departments to conduct PSM audits in 2016 and 2018. The conclusions made in the 2018 audit are listed as follows: (A) At present, the benefits of PSM in reducing the risk of major process accidents and improving process safety have gained widespread recognition from the industry. In particular, the key to promoting PSM depends on the leadership and commitment of managers at all levels and the participation of all departments and personnel; (B) During the interview regarding the inspection of plants and departments pushed rigorously by the General Administration Department, FPG has made the third-party impartial body feel the strong support given to the auditing unit by our top-level managers, as well as our ability to adhere duties and responsibilities in relation to PSM when promoting PSM and related operations and get all our employees to participate in this initiative; (C) FPG's 95% compliance rate indicated that most of our existing management regulations are able to comply with PSM regulations or standards. Making improvements on the implementation of PSM will be of great help to improving our PSM performance, thereby enhancing our process safety culture.

With a view to ensuring that all PSM specialists are able to carry out PSM effectively, FPG has drawn up a comprehensive plan on the training needs, course contents, and evaluation of training effectiveness for PSM specialists across the group since 2013, as well as promulgated training and certification management regulations for PSM specialists in hopes of enhancing the professional knowledge and personal qualities of these personnel through certification. Moreover, FPG drew up plans to gradually promote certification for the 14 elements of PSM for PSM specialists. We underwent the certification process for management of change (MOC), PHA, and mechanical integrity (MI) in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively. We continued to undergo the certification process for six elements of PSM, namely employee participation, standard operating procedures (SOP), education and training, contractor management, pre-startup safety review (PSSR), and compliance audits, in 2016, and then the remaining five elements of PSM in 2017. By the end of 2017, FPG has completed the certification process for all the 14 elements of PSM at all our plants in Taiwan. In the future, we will continuously have newly appointed PSM specialists undergo the certification process upon transfer to ensure that each PSM specialist has successfully passed the relevant assessment and acquired the certification, thus confirming their ability to execute and promote PSM.

Process Hazards Analysis (PHA)

In order to learn about the risks facing factory operations in our Mailiao Industrial Park once more, FPG actively carries out re-examination of PHA in highly hazardous processes and high-risk areas across the group, and then proposes recommendations for improvement upon examination before immediately filing cases for control and improvement. With the intention of further improving the operational quality of PHA, IHS Markit from the U.S. has been commissioned to help train and certify PHA facilitators at FPG since 2011. At present, FPG has 72 PHA facilitators (including 57 in Taiwan and 15 in Mainland China) who have undergone related training and acquired the relevant certification. On the other hand, PHA team leaders at various plants and departments are tasked with guiding discussions in PHA teams. Since PHA team leaders serve as the key to the quality of PHA, FPG continued to organize training programs and carry out the certification process among 352 PHA team leaders at various companies under FPG in 2014. FPG commissioned IHS Markit to assist in training and certification processes at production plants in the oil refinery, petrochemical, chemical, general-purpose plastics, and public utilities industries as these facilities are regarded as plants and departments at higher risks, whereas outstanding training facilitators at FPG were appointed to conduct training and certification processes at production plants in the electronic and processing industries. In 2016, FPG expanded PHA training to PHA team members at each plant and department in hopes of enabling each team member to fully understand the methods of PHA, thereby improving our capabilities in process risk assessment. In December 2020, FPG promulgated amendments to enterprise system regulations, which require each process plant and department to appoint PHA facilitators to be responsible for implementing PHA and maintaining the quality of PHA, attending risk assessment meetings convened by the PHA team on a regular basis, and assisting in guiding PHA at its unit, so as to ensure the quality of PHA and avoid underestimating risks.

Furthermore, in order to carry out (semi-)quantitative analysis of relatively high-risk hazardous events after implementing PHA in the workplace at various departments, FPG's regulations for layer of protection analysis (LOPA) stipulate that for hazardous events with Level 1 risk (very high risk) or Level 2 risk (high risk) according to the classification of risk level in PHA, further assessments have to be conducted in accordance with these regulations while the safety integrity level (SIL) of the required safety instrumented system (SIS) has to be determined to ensure process safety. As far as plants and departments with non-continuous processes are concerned, FPG has introduced and promoted the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) assessment method for selection and conducted related training, so that important equipment in process units can identify potential hazards using this method. At the same time, the assessment methods above have also been built into LOPA and FMEA modules on the risk management platform, so that the implementation of assessment operations at FPG becomes consistent and more efficient.

Management of Change (MOC)

FPG actively implements and carries out management of change (MOC) to ensure that any changes in design, equipment, raw materials or operating conditions do not undermine manufacturing processes. In 2011, we arranged MOC training for a total of 873 production plant managers, deputy production plant managers, and MOC controllers at our Mailiao Industrial Park. Later in 2012, MOC training was extended to all our employees at various departments in all our industrial parks across Taiwan, involving a total of 16,859 people. In 2020, we categorized MOC training into basic and advanced courses while regularizing them as required courses during job training for employees. In addition, FPG promotes MOC primarily by exchanges through coaching, so that all relevant supervisors and colleagues can discuss and identify problems, as well as establish the right and appropriate practices to improve the quality of operations.

On improving the quality of MOC, FPG actively conducts our own MOC training courses for all our employees while designating PSM specialists at each department to keep a watch on MOC. On the other hand, certified PHA facilitators at various companies under FPG are tasked with providing guidance on MOC in three aspects, including "implementation of MOC," "ensuring the quality of MOC assessment," and "ensuring quality before closing change cases," to various departments, so as to assist various departments in quickly establishing a deep understanding of the correct MOC methods.

Self-audit management and inspection

Employees are the most precious assets at FPG, while the workplace safety of contractors' employees is also our responsibility. In order to ensure the safety and health of employees at work, we not only carry out safety and health management in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations, but also reinforce self-management by establishing a joint workplace safety supervision and inspection team at various plants to conduct inspections on our plants frequently, supervise construction safety among operators and the operating status of pipeline equipment, strengthen checks on oil, water, and gas (steam) leakages, and inspect daily management at various plants across FPG, so that employees and contractors can work safely with peace of mind.

Fire personnel training and certification

1. Fire safety management personnel
With the aim of preventing major fire incidents, FPG has officially separated fire safety management from our safety and health system since 2012. A comprehensive fire safety management organization comprising has been jointly established by various units at FPG, including the General Administration Division, the President's Office, the Safety and Health Department (Office) at various plants, the Administration Department at various plants, the Manager's Office at various divisions, the Manager's Office at the Engineering Department, and various plants and departments. On the other hand, FPG also invited expert teams from the Tjing Ling Industrial Research Institute, National Taiwan University and WuFeng University to build a multi-purpose live fire training classroom suitable for petrochemical plants and general premises, as well as formulate a 84-hour, three-stage professional course and related certification, in order to enhance FPG's professional capabilities in fire safety management.

2. Emergency response commander
Appropriate responses to leaks or fire in the early stage of an incident in a large petrochemical plant can prevent further damage and reduce losses arising therefrom, as well as minimize its impact on the external environment and residents nearby. In order to enhance the incident response capabilities of plant and department managers and supervisors on duty, FPG has initiated and conducted our own 28-hour emergency response commander training in collaboration with the Environmental Incident Response Consulting Center, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology.

Firefighting and disaster relief capabilities

1. Fire hose system at FPG's industrial park
The main fire hose pipeline at FPG's Mailiao Industrial Park surrounds the entire park in a circle, so that water can be supplied from two directions without any hassle. Seven fire stations have been set up in the circular water supply loop, with each fire station equipped with one main pump and two or three backup pumps. Moreover, an adequate number of intercepting valves have been installed along the main fire hose pipeline, so that the fire hose pipeline can be isolated locally in the event of a pipeline burst to prevent the impact of such incident on the overall fire hose pipeline system. The fire hose pipeline system can store approximately 1.62 million tons of water in total, which can be used to continuously supply water for extinguishing fire in a massive fire incident for up to 124 hours.

2. Professional fire brigade
With the intention of responding to various types of fire incidents at our Mailiao Industrial Park, FPG has set up our own fire brigade comprising , all of whom have undergone live fire training at the Texas A&M University in the U.S. FPG owns 21 advanced fire trucks and various types of disaster response equipment, which have been developed based on the fire safety design at petrochemical plants in Japan and the U.S. Among these fire trucks, two are imported high-volume water canon trucks with a flow rate of 10,000 gpm and a shooting range of 100m, which are able to demonstrate stronger firefighting capabilities when used in combination with the main fire hose pipeline at our Mailiao Industrial Park than national fire trucks.

3. Self-defense fire brigade
Owing to a wide variety of chemicals, huge storage capacity, and complex equipment pipelines at large petrochemical plants, numerous kinds of reactions and disasters may occur easily and are difficult to handle in case of an accident at a large petrochemical plant. With a view to quickly utilizing manpower at various plants and departments in the event of a major accident at an individual plant or department, FPG has set up a self-defense fire brigade comprising to assist our own professional fire brigade and the national fire brigade in various operations, such as emergency disaster relief, rescue, and firefighting, Members of our self-defense fire brigade are required to complete training courses related to theoretical and technical subjects (e.g. extinguishing fires in various fire scenarios, such as oil pans, oil pipes, oil barrel barriers, oil ducts, o-rings for oil tanks, and large oil pools), with the purpose of boosting their ability to operate firefighting equipment and extinguish fires.

Self-management of firefighting equipment

In order to ensure that on-site firefighting equipment function normally and carry out self-inspections, FPG has introduced the use of handheld mobile devices (e.g., PDA, tablet, and mobile phones) in place of the paper-based method for recording inspection results during on-site inspection. Using handheld mobile devices not only enables eco-friendly and paper-less management, but can also track improvements on abnormal equipment more efficiently based on the execution results in the computer database compiled from the inspection results keyed in using handheld mobile devices.

As of 2021, FPG owns 434 transportation vehicles, employs 738 drivers, and hires the services of 75 dangerous goods transportation contractors and self-pickup vendors for the delivery of products. In order to manage road traffic safety, FPG has initiated and implemented a series of company-owned vehicle management measures in respect of personnel and vehicle hardware, including establishing rules and regulations for vehicle driver classification, setting up a GPS-based driving safety monitoring system, promoting driving safety (including personnel and vehicle facilities) and risk assessment for transportation operations, and performing audits on transportation safety management. With these measures in place, the number of accidents per million kilometers at FPG has fallen gradually from a maximum of 1.12 cases in 2000 to 0.15 cases in 2021. To fulfill our responsibility as a corporate citizen, FPG has included transportation contractors into our scope of management since 2012, where we organize monthly seminars with contractors to convey our philosophy and management requirements and educate them using real traffic accident cases in these seminars, in hopes of preventing similar accidents and reducing the number of accidents through training workshops as well as analysis and review of causes of accidents. Meanwhile, FPG is also committed to promoting a host of good management measures, such as GPS-based driving safety monitoring system, safe and defensive driving skills, and the concept of courtesy on the road, based on our experience in managing our own fleet, so as to safeguard the safety of pedestrians and vehicles.

Traffic safety during commutes among employees

FPG attaches great importance to traffic safety during commutes among employees. With the intention of preventing accidents among employees, FPG has launched a traffic safety program, which includes organizing a traffic safety outcome presentation competition, as well as arranging interviews with the victims of traffic accidents and sending our condolences to them, in order to listen to employees' stories, experiences, and prevention practices. Additionally, FPG has implemented a series of measures, such as experience sharing in awareness events, preparing internal awareness materials featuring traffic-related occupational accident cases, and inviting Dr. Chang Wen-Song from the Central Police University and local supervisory authorities to give lectures on safe and defensive driving and conduct training courses, in order to reinforce the concept of traffic safety during commutes among employees.