cpp – Process technology for the chemical industry 02.2020

A transformation of safety culture at Rain Carbon
Safety as a building block
for success
For Rain Carbon, safety is an important building block for success. In 2016, the
number of reportable injuries was already at a low level, but that was not enough for
those responsible. They were aiming for zero. The key to achieving that goal would
be to develop a more robust safety culture. With the help of Dupont Sustainable
Solutions, Rain Carbon has moved closer to zero, beginning with a pilot project at its
Castrop-Rauxel site in Germany.
Massimiliano Martino, Vice President
Glob al Safety, Health and Environment at
Rain Carbon, knows the reasons for investing
in safety: “To be successful, Rain Carbon
has to be a world-class performer in terms
of safety. We cannot compromise when it
comes to safety and we can only move forward
as fast as our progress as regards safety
initiatives and activities.” Rain Carbon’s total
recordable injury rate is currently less than
0.4. This is a remarkable achievement, but
the company will only be satisfied with zero
incidents. “We have therefore put in place
stringent programmes and KPIs (key performance
indicators) to monitor and reduce
all types of incident. We must do our utmost
to safeguard communities, employees and
the environment in order to deliver on our
commitments as a responsible company”,
Martino explains. For him, safety is clearly
one of the building blocks for success. “It
allows us to increase our productivity and
operational discipline and it will also add
value on the path to truly organic growth.”
Together with Dupont Sustainable Solutions, Rain Carbon launched a pilot project at the
Castrop-Rauxel site in 2016 to change the company’s safety culture
Pictures: Rain Carbon
Project launch in Germany
Under the direction of Dr. Günther
Weymans, Executive Vice President Carbon
Distillation and Advanced Materials, Rain
Carbon determined in 2016 that its facilities
around the world needed to develop a more
mature and sustainable safety culture. The
company sought assistance from a safety
and operations management consultancy
with significant experience in the chemical
industry: Dupont Sustainable Solutions
(DSS). Rain Carbon began the cultural transformation
project at its largest site, the distillation
and advanced materials production
facility in Castrop-Rauxel, Germany. The
total recordable incident rate there had become
caught in a cycle where the number
of incidents gradually decreased, crept up
again, then declined once more without
ever completely flattening out.
“It had grown more and more obvious that
our culture did not promote independent,
safe decision-making”, recalls Elke Helck,
then Site Manager. “Instead of pursuing a
risk-free course of action themselves, people
relied on rules and regulations to keep safe.”
The management and their employees had
widely diverging views on safety. It was
clear something had to change, but what?
cpp 02-2020 33