November 10th, 2025

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Process safety not a top priority in board discussions

Only two in five high-hazard organisations discuss process safety and asset integrity at board meetings, according to a survey by consultancy DuPont Sustainable Solutions.

Dupont surveyed 82 senior managers from the oil and gas, mining, chemical manufacturing and construction sectors. The findings come against the backdrop of a continued push by the Regulator to impress the importance of process safety to close gaps in corporate risk registers.

But, the survey from DuPont, suggests that the drive might not be having the desired impact. Whilst process safety is a less common topic on board agendas than general safety performance, more than half still reviewed general safety, health and environment metrics and regulatory compliance.

Organisational cultures that fail to prioritise operational risk can fall into the trap of the “illusion of understanding”, DuPont cautions. “Performance indicators may show positive trends but risks remain hidden, waiting to strike.”

Key findings, include:

• Two in five high-hazard organisations discuss process safety and asset integrity at board meetings
• Eight in 10 were confident senior managers were clear about major operational risks, whilst less than half believed that that frontline employees understood these risks
• Whilst nine senior managers in 10 agreed about the importance of risk governance in safety management, only three in 10 were confident their organisations managed it well

The survey from DuPont comes shortly after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published the latest statistics on work-related health and safety in Great Britain. View the 2017 statistics.