Nothing defines the measure of a company more than the value it places on its own people and the measures it takes to ensure their well-being. Every employee at Exxon Chemical is a valuable member of a family and a community, active in volunteer organizations, churches, schools and youth athletics.

Protecting the well-being of our employees is vital both to the company and all those who depend on them in so many ways. Our success lies with the strong sense of personal accountability employees feel for the health and safety of others, and continuous improvement of our safety practices.

Worldwide Stories

• Human Factors
  The interaction between people, plants, equipment and the way they work requires a certain harmony to prevent work-related injuries and illnesses. Injuries can result from repetitive motion, prolonged activity, incorrect body positioning and other situations where body movement is involved in performing a task. We are using tools from our Human Factors program to address these issues in building management systems and facilities.

• Antwerp
  An employee at our Antwerp Polymers Plant (Belgium) developed a method to systematically examine personal safety in any process hazard study, and several employees of that same plant won internal Safety, Health and Environmental awards for designing new ergonomic tools.

• Notre-Dame de Gravenchon
  A team at Notre-Dame de Gravenchon, France, created a self-propelling high pressure cleaning device, considerably improving working conditions and safety of the cleaning operation of a 10 meter-long drum under nitrogen atmosphere.

• Baytown
  When it became clear that a tool was needed to increase hazard awareness in the Baytown Laboratories, a Job Post Hazard Analysis Team was chartered. Their mission: Create a tool to identify hazards specific to lab posts, assess each hazard, develop an action plan to mitigate or eliminate the hazards, and document the procedures and work practices used. The team developed a tool that uses a checklist focusing on seven hazard categories - including Human Factors - identified with input from laboratory technicians, the Safety Council, Safe Work Practice Teams, Industrial Hygiene, Medical and Legal. After piloting and modifying the Job Post Hazard Analysis Process, it was rolled out to all Baytown Laboratories. It requires each post to be reviewed by three people including a technician qualified for the post, a technical resource or first-line supervisor, and an individual not yet qualified for the post. As a result of this new process, nearly 60 posts were analyzed, more than 1,050 hazards were identified and 400 follow-up actions were recommended. In addition, the consolidated hazard data revealed key focus areas for 2000. This focused program helped the laboratories reduce recordable injuries and illnesses. The North American Lab Heads Network is naming the Job Post Hazard Analysis Process a best practice.

• Baton Rouge Polyolefins (BRPO)
  Because safety is such an important part of our professional lives, safety-conscious thinking does not stop at the plant's gates. In our Baton Rouge, Louisiana polyolefins plant the BRPO Family Safety Council helps workers think about safety off-the-job. One of their most successful programs - the Seat Belt Program - was recognized by the State of Louisiana. The BRPO Family Safety Council also initiated a voluntary off-the-job incident reporting program to help employees learn from each other.

• Edison
  The Edison Synthetics Plant has struggled over the years to manage plant changes efficiently and thoroughly. The paper system had become so cumbersome that frequently changes were made without timely reviews or documentation. As a result, what was practiced in the field often did not match documentation. The Synthetics Plant then implemented a fully electronic management of change (eMOC) system. The Lotus Notes-based workflow system tracks and manages all changes in the plant.They facilitated the implementation of eMOC in the Edison facility, working with Information Services and plant employees to design a useable, efficient system. They also trained employees to use eMOC, and continue to provide ongoing training and support. Since adopting this fast and user-friendly system, documentation and closure have improved dramatically, reviews and approvals are more timely, and a broader range of employees use eMOC than used its predecessor. Following system design, testing and initial rollout at the Edison Synthetics Plant, eMOC was subsequently rolled out to six ExxonMobil Chemical sites and is being used in three ExxonMobil refineries.  

• Sarnia
  To ensure the long-term health and safety of employees and contractors, promoting safety awareness off the job is just as important as safety awareness on the job. Building safety awareness of personnel and their families is the primary function of Sarnia's Safety NEWSRadio, an electronic communication created in 1994 by the Sarnia site safety and health advisor. Using e-mail systems to "broadcast" messages of home, auto and seasonal safety issues, Safety NEWSRadio has been distributed weekly for the last five years to approximately 1,100 employees at the chemical plant, research and refinery in Sarnia. In addition, it is shared with contacts at affiliate sites across the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific for re-broadcast to employees around the globe and for inclusion in the ExxonMobil Technology Safety Network. The editor of Safety NEWSRadio develops topic material, solicits information from others and organizes material to provide a timely/seasonal focus from employees all around the world. It is clear that Safety NEWSRadio has created an encouraging environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their off-the-job safety incidents and lessons.

• Al Jubail
  The employee Injury Incidence Rate (IIR, number of recordable incidents per 200,000 man hours) at the Kemya plastics facility (Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia) steadily declined between 1987 and 1997, from 1.0 to an incident-free year in 1997. The site's employees have completed more than six million work hours - that's 7 1/2 years - without an on-the-job lost-time injury. In addition, employees at the Kemya plastics facility have developed a program to increase safety awareness among contractors. As a result, contractors' IIR dropped from 1.15 to zero between 1995 and 1997.

• Kawasaki
  Japan Butyl Company, Kawasaki Plant is proud of its record of having zero Lost Time Injuries for 12 consecutive years. This achievement was the result of company-wide Safety, Health and Environment programs which are directed towards providing a safe and hazard-free environment for all employees to work. In addition, the site also has environment protection measures in place that reduce gaseous emissions and waste and improvement in energy efficiency.

For these achievements, the plant has received several awards from the Japan Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Labor Standards Bureau of Kanagawa Prefecture. In addition, the plant has annually received awards from the U.S. National Safety Council in recognition of its positive safety records.