Safety drives all work at Aera. It is integrated into our daily business activities to make sure every employee and business partner makes it home without injury.
Safety, built-In
Aera has worked to proactively eliminate hazards through prevention by design. By looking at our projects and procedures prior to implementation, we literally build in safety from the very beginning. We also invest in maintaining the mechanical integrity of our systems to ensure they perform properly. We pride ourselves on the competence of our staff’s technical experts, who can offer informed solutions in every aspect of our operations.
Every single Aera employee is entrusted with a “Stop Work Authority”—the ability to halt any process or operation that appears unsafe, and nip safety hazards in the bud.
We track the numbers to verify our safety performance. In 2016, we recorded our lowest-ever Total Recordable Incident Rate of 0.33.
A Company-wide commitment
Aera is also engaged in:
Occupational health
We work at all levels to ensure our programs are compliant with state and federal OSHA requirements. As one example, we maintain an aggressive focus on ensuring employees and contractors are not exposed to hazardous chemicals in the field.
Contractor safety engagement
Aera relies on the thousands of business partners who contribute to our success. Their safety and knowledge of our programs and practices are essential. That’s why we only hire the safest contractors with a history of complying with mandated safety programs as well as safe work performance. Once they’re onboard, we continue to work with them to ensure they understand our expectations and processes.
Spill management
As a responsible oil and gas producer, Aera maintains a robust emergency response spill capability. We have developed local teams who are prepared to take action should the need arise. These include county agencies and contractors with expertise in quickly and successfully responding to spills. We maintain strong relationships and ongoing communication with a wide community of trained responders, including fire departments, California’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources and district air resource agencies. When necessary, we conduct a root-cause failure analysis to identify corrective action that can prevent a recurrence.
Emergency response management
Aera makes it a priority to commit the time, resources and energy to effectively respond to and manage an emergency, whether it’s a heart attack or a hazardous material leak. We have created integrated contingency plans and regularly engage in emergency preparation, training and drills involving staff, business partners and appropriate agencies. Our team has trained for years under the nationally recognized Incident Command System (ICS).