Social Responsibility
Community
Joffre
Safety
SAFETY IS CRITICAL TO OUR BUSINESS
We work to protect people, assets and the surrounding environment in many ways — from initial design to effective emergency response if an incident occurs.
Risk engineers assess and plan against stringent risk-based standards. Each facility is designed to prevent incidents that could cause harm or extended operating outage. For example:
facilities are designed to minimize impact of prevailing winds or hazards from a flammable leak
combustible gas detectors are placed throughout each facility to detect vapor releases and the detectors are monitored by control rooms
automatic fire protection is provided by sensor-operated, remote sprinkler systems
high pressures within manufacturing processes are controlled by automatically venting the gas to elevated flare systems (the principle safety device for near-complete combustion of hydrocarbons when in upset operating conditions or during a shut-down or re-start)
Our philosophy is 'One Site… One Emergency Response Plan.' All site facilities and infrastructure are included within a common, integrated emergency management plan. Training response personnel and testing of emergency preparedness capability is critical. We have more than 100 drills at the site each year to practice, test and document opportunities to improve.
As a member of the Lacombe County Mutual Aid Organization, we work with other area emergency preparedness organizations to train and test the effectiveness of individual emergency response plans and equipment to ensure we can work well together. As official signatures to the Mutual Aid Agreement, site emergency response personnel will respond to assist with local emergencies until the municipal response is on scene.
Facility Loss Prevention
The responsibility we have to our employees and neighbors, and the considerations related to lost revenue and equipment replacement costs all provide incentive to design facilities to very high standards, and to have the management systems in place to address associated risks.
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Emergency management includes equipment resources. On site, we have more than $2 million of emergency response equipment including three fire trucks (rapid response, aerial capacity and foam delivery) and two ambulances. An Emergency Operations Centre, located in our security building, provides emergency leaders with a state-of-the-art facility to manage incidents in cooperation with personnel in the field.
Community Partnerships
We partner with public agencies in responding to community emergencies that could result from Joffre Site operations. To ensure the on-going needs of potentially impacted parties are considered and addressed, we maintain an active Community Emergency Planning Committee of local residents, industry and Lacombe County Disaster Services. Meeting quarterly, the group reviews plans, tests communication systems and maintains a resident list for emergency notification.
Automated Community Notification System
A unique telecommunications service can quickly notify residents within 5 kilometers of the Joffre Site if an incident resulting from our operations has the potential to affect them or that neighbors may be concerned about.
