Prevention

Primary and secondary protection measures

We use a risk matrix to assess the risks arising from potential incident based on their probability and impact. The resulting risk classes are used to determine appropriate protection measures, which are divided in so-called primary and secondary protection measures.

Primary protection measures prevent further consequences such as the release of substances in the event of a plant malfunction. To this end, equipment is installed to shut down the plant automatically or safety valves are used to prevent overpressure. Our focus lies on these primary protection measures.

Secondary protection measures back up the primary measures. They include protection walls, enclosures, retention systems and fire fighting measures designed to restrict the impact of an incident to a manageable level.

 

Digitalization

We are constantly working to increase the availability of our plants and determine the right point in time for maintenance measures and revamping/refurbishment. The aim is to further reduce unscheduled shutdowns. To achieve this, we launched a digitalization project in 2017, which was first implemented in 2018 at a number of plants in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and then expanded in 2019 to further plants in Ludwigshafen a well as in Schwarzheide, Germany, and Antwerp, Belgium. We want to roll the project out worldwide in 2020.