Bridging the Divide - OHS and Process Safety

The occupational health and safety field is well established, with a number of professional bodies, undergraduate programs and a comprehensive body of knowledge. Conversely, the process safety field has evolved largely over the past 40 years as an engineering discipline, with a focus on engineering solutions. Both of these fields utilise a risk management basis for decisions and actions. But both fields still largely operate independently of each other. There is much to be learned from sharing knowledge and responsible collaboration to deliver safer plants and operations from an OHS and a process safety perspective. This paper will explore how we can bridge the divide between OHS and process safety to achieve better safety outcomes. This includes better education and information flow between both professions as well as leveraging off existing systems to advance process safety.