Anyone who has been involved with the commissioning of a highly technical process plant has had to wonder, is there a method to this madness?. Whilst there would have been a lot of planning gone into the commissioning process how much of that planning was with regard to safety? How much of that planning was specifically concerned with safety?
Thorough planning will result in a reduction in losses and increased profitability for both the owner of the facility and the companies who own, design and manufacture the plant being commissioned. This planning will go some way in ensuring that we meet the standard required by our common law duty of care to the workers, employees etc.
Historically, when a new plant, factory, or manufacturing facility is constructed, safety is often thought of from the point of view that considers the final occupants; typically the owners and the employees.
From my experience any considerations for the safety and health of the persons actually constructing and commissioning the facility have been left most often to the constructor or less likely to the engineering staff involved.
The legal intricacies of multiple layers of subcontracting and with the safety and health of the workers is in general getting far more attention in the new millennium than in the 1980's and 1990's. More and more companies in Australia and around the world are now realising that there is a minefield of potential liability out in the legal world if they are not involved.
Additionally, projects where the owner has far more control over the project are under increased scrutiny due to the potential for tremendous savings that an owner can realise through aggressive safety and health management.
CSL Limited was formally the Australian Government's Commonwealth Serum Laboratories and is now the parent company for the CSL Group of Companies. CSL Limited was fully privatised in 1994. Since privatisation, CSL has acquired a number of pharmaceutical companies in New Zealand, USA, UK and Switzerland. Our share price has been rising exponentially as a result of excellent management of the processes through the changes, and the attention we pay to our science, our performance, and our people.
Late in the 1980's CSL commenced the planning of a High-Tech Blood Fractionation Facility at Broadmeadows in Victoria to replace its outdated plant at Parkville, an inner Melbourne suburb. Planning of this facility commenced with the formation of a Project Team headed by a Project Director. Construction commenced in 1991, and in the initial project brief strong emphasis was placed on safety in all aspects of the project.
In March 1992, to ensure that this emphasis continued, a Health, Safety & Environment Manager was appointed to establish safety procedures for the site and to oversee the commissioning and operational processes. I was appointed to this position early in 1992.
