HOUSTON—Gulf Coast region manager Desiree Cromwell says Phillips 66 views its commitment to safety as “a journey with no ending.”
The company’s journey does, however, include a new safety milestone.
Phillips 66 recently claimed the Platinum Safety Award in the large-company division during the International Liquid Terminals Association’s 2022 International Operating Conference and Trade Show at the Marriott Marquis Houston. Phillips 66 was joined by small-company Platinum award winner U.S. Oil, a division of U.S. Venture.
“We are honored to be recognized by our peers, who are all … committed to cultivating a safety culture,” Cromwell said in accepting the award June 14. “Each one of you is making a difference in the world, and to be recognized by the ILTA, and you, truly is humbling.
“Safety is a journey with no ending, and at Phillips 66 we are on that journey—a journey to foster a culture that keeps the safety of our people, our community, and our environment as our highest priority.”
ILTA also recognized a record 40 Safety Excellence Award winners at its annual awards breakfast, including Citgo and Colonial Pipeline, which secured the honor in its first full year of terminal operations. Citgo also recently received Safety Achievement Awards for two refineries from American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers.
Kathryn Clay, ILTA president, said only 15 members earned Excellence awards in 2015, illustrating how far the industry has come.
“Safety is the cornerstone of our operational excellence,” Carlos Jordá, CITGO president and CEO said in a release. “We are honored to receive these distinguished awards as testament to our efforts in maintaining the highest standards of operational safety at our refineries and terminals.”
ILTA considered 16 member companies for its Platinum Safety Awards, which each year go to one large company with 200 or more full-time employees, and one small company with fewer than 200 employees. All Platinum award candidates achieved an average total recordable incident rate (TRIR) of 0.5 or less per 100 employees in 2021, and submitted detailed descriptions of their safety programs for peer review by ILTA members.
This year’s panel of six judges—Earl Crochet (Crochet Midstream Consulting), Brian Temples (TransMontaigne) Dennis Mendenhall (Marathon Petroleum), Daryl Brown (Seneca Petroleum), Greg Johnston (Colonial Pipeline), and Shannon Caldwell (Zenith Energy)—considered critical factors like management commitment, employee participation, training programs, hazard identification and control, and program innovation.
“They came together, they scored those companies, they discussed and debated those scores along several metrics, and after deliberation there was consensus this year,” Clay said. “There was a unanimous vote for each of the two companies that received this year’s Platinum award.”
Cromwell credited Phillips 66’s commitment to constant safety improvement, and the “significant progress” it has made over the years for its breakthrough achievement. “The organization understands the importance of safety, our leaders believe in what we’re doing, and we have 100% commitment across the board,” she said, pointing to safety programs like Phillips 66’s Good Catch app, and Employee Safety Improvement Teams as examples.
“We want to win awards, and be recognized for the great things we’re doing, but at the end of the day it’s about commitment,” she concluded. “We want to make sure everyone understands this is a journey, and we are all committed to that journey each and every day—and the employees within Phillips 66 understand that.”
2022 Safety Excellence Award winners:
- Asphalt Operating Services
- Associated Asphalt Partners
- Buckeye Terminals
- BWC Terminals
- Canal Terminal
- Chemserve Terminal of Wilmington
- Citgo
- Colonial Pipeline
- Delek Logistics Partners
- Energy Transfer
- Enterprise Products
- Fikes Terminal
- Howard Midstream Energy Partners
- Intercontinental Terminals
- International-Matex Tank Terminals
- International Raw Materials
- Jebro
- Jefferson Energy
- Kinder Morgan
- LBC Baton Rouge
- LBC Houston
- Lucknow Highspire Terminals
- Marathon Petroleum
- Martin Operating Partnership
- MIPC (Monroe)
- Moda Midstream
- Motiva Enterprises
- Murphy Oil
- NuStar Energy
- Oiltanking
- Petro Diamond
- Phillips 66
- Plains All American
- Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical (SATORP)
- Seneca Petroleum
- Stolthaven Terminals
- Targa Resources
- Tidewater Transportation and Terminals
- U.S. Oil, a division of U.S. Venture
- Vopak
