This week the Safety Institute of Australia launches two new chapters for the OHS Body of Knowledge (OHS BoK). Developed in conjunction with the Institution of Chemical Engineers, these chapters on Process Hazards (Chemical) and Managing Process Safety break new ground in employing a collaborative approach; bringing together the two disciplines of process safety and generalist OHS to develop core knowledge for those working in process environments.

The quality of these chapters represents a strong collaborative effort by the members of the Technical panel and especially the joint writing team of Trish Kerin, Director of the IChemE Safety Centre and Pam Pryor of the SIA and the Australian OHS Education Accreditation Board.

Pam Pryor said that these chapters have highlighted the international application of the OHS BoK with international representation on the Technical Panel and international feedback as part of the peer review process.

Patrick Murphy, Chair of the Safety Institute of Australia said that it is gratifying for the work to be recognised by people such as Andrew Hopkins

“If I were an OHS professional I’d be delighted to have this material gathered together in one place like this. … An OHS professional who grasps this material will be far more effective as a result.”

and Dame Judith Hackitt, past Chair of the UK Health and Safety Executive and Past President of IChemE

“I applaud the work of the group who have produced this vital material which will enable process safety specialists and OHS professionals to work together with common understanding of each other’s languages and competences. This is a vital step in moving towards a fully integrated approach to safety which focusses on all of the issues and, most importantly, breaks down the silos in thinking.”

The formal launch of the process safety chapters on the 26th April will accompanied by a webinar on an Introduction to process safety presented by Trish Kerin. The new chapters are available for download at www.ohsbok.org.au.

This media release is also available as a PDF.

Advisory Panel

OHS Body of Knowledge extended to address process safety