Announcing New Regulatory Compliance Solutions Hubs

Preparing High Hazard Sites for Net Zero

If businesses are not putting Net Zero into their Strategy now – then they should be! Are your existing systems fit for purpose?

Max Walker. H.S.E. Head of Onshore Chemicals Strategy & Divisional Support | Chemicals, Explosives & Microbiological Hazards Division.

Darlington, United Kingdom, 26 January 2022 – In order to help global High Hazard and COMAH sites respond to their Net Zero preparation needs – as identified in the Competent Authority point of view quotation above, along with their regulatory compliance and skills gap requirements, Cogent Skills has evolved their business unit – previously known as Courses and Consultancy.

From January 2022, global Board Members, Directors, Managers and Supervisors – responsible for the safety of their Assets, People and Systems, will now have the opportunity to improve their workstream outcomes by addressing their workforce competence management and systems compliance via the Regulatory Compliance Solutions Hubs – which include:

For customers, this means that all current courses and consultancy solutions will remain available, whilst the Hubs will deliver global customers access to a collation of essential and value add solutions, to make it easier for them to find what they are looking for, to help ensure that their business is future ready.

The changes include the renaming of the business unit – which will now be known as Regulatory Compliance Solutions and by the redevelopment of a suite of regulatory compliance and associated solutions called Regulatory Compliance Hubs.

This redevelopment is aligned to one of Cogent Skills’ core values – to be enterprising, delivering services that are continually best in class.

Operating as an external resource, Cogent Skills’ Net Zero Preparedness Hub will help global High Hazard Sites prepare their assets, people and systems for Net Zero changes, by assessing their existing systems – to see if they are fit for purpose, then developing or updating their systems frameworks to ensure operational compliance within Process Safety, Human Factors, Workforce Competence, Leadership and Change Management.

The decision to evolve the service offering was reached following a series of 2021 industry consultations, along with close collaboration with the GB COMAH Competent Authorities, industry leaders and the Process Safety Management Competence Programme Board. All stakeholders have the collective aim to improve the safety of industry’s people, assets, process systems, productivity and the Environment – by developing industry skills, knowledge and behaviours.

The following comments from a Health and Safety Executive lead, were taken from a series of Q4 2021 Cogent Skills and Competent Authority’s collaborative industry activities and provides detail about the need for industry to assess their workforce’s competency and systems compliance.

Within HM Government’s 10-point plan for Net Zero Energy Transition, there will be a significant investment of public money in carbon reduction solutions. For COMAH and High Hazard Sites, there will be a huge change in process safety technologies, along with a need to review their workforce’s competency skills.

Businesses need to build understanding about any changes and ask themselves ‘Are your existing systems fit for purpose?’ Especially if a site is adapting to Hydrogen or Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage, as anything that is compressed or liquefied may create more safety or environmental issues.

COMAH and High Hazard businesses also need to be addressing their workforce competence management and process safety systems compliance, ahead of the curve of (Net Zero) change – especially if they will be Repurposing or Decommissioning their assets.

New entrants or innovative Net Zero solutions providers need to be aware of COMAH site compliance regulations during their development phase.

Max Walker. H.S.E. Head of Onshore Chemicals Strategy & Divisional Support | Chemicals, Explosives & Microbiological Hazards Division.

In order to explore customer’s needs and understand more about the Regulatory Compliance Hubs, customers are encouraged to meet with Cogent Skills’ Subject Matter Experts. This will be promoted via a ‘Meet the Experts in Skills for Regulatory Compliance’ campaign, which will run throughout 2022.

We have an obligation to constantly review and deliver best in class regulatory competence management, compliance skills and framework solutions. We intend to continue collaboration with industry and the regulators – especially on the Net Zero agenda, to help develop industry skills guidelines.

As the skills voice of the science industries, we care about our customers and the safety of their people, along with our reputation and the integrity of our service offering. We wanted to evolve our services, to provide an even better client experience and make it easier for customers to find high value solutions to their business needs.

These updates will not only help to improve customer’s staff culture, knowledge and behaviours but can also help to ensure the safety of industry’s people, assets and the environment, which in turn, will help worldwide industries keep their License to Operate.

Alex Slater. Head of Operations, Cogent Skills Regulatory Compliance Solutions

NOTE

Quotation from Max Walker. H.S.E. is in no way intended to endorse the Cogent Skills commercial services – it is a point of view message from the regulator to industry. HSE are members of the Process Safety Management Competence Programme Board who collectively develop PSM and Competency training standards for COMAH sites and High Hazard industries

Contact:

Beverley Rose. Marketing Manager. Cogent Skills Regulatory Compliance Solutions. Email: [email protected]