Southern California Gas Co. and parent company Sempra outlined how they plan to respond to a state report that found organization-wide shortfalls in their safety culture.
The plans are the latest milestones in an ongoing inquiry by the California Public Utilities Commission, or CPUC, into whether the safety culture at Sempra and SoCalGas contributed to incidents in recent years, including a massive gas leak from the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility (19-06-014).
A December 2021 report by Evolving Energy Consortium, or 2EC, concluded that the safety culture at the companies had not advanced beyond an early phase of maturity. SoCalGas has pushed back on some of the report's core findings, but in a filing published on Aug. 1, the company offered for review and approval by the CPUC some proposals for addressing shortfalls.
Addressing 2EC's main findings
SoCalGas proposed several "workstreams" to address the four overarching safety themes that 2EC identified in its report. Each workstream is comprised of several initiatives.
First, to address a narrow perception of safety that focuses on safeguarding personnel, SoCalGas said it intends to build and put into operation a "comprehensive understanding of safety" across its organization. SoCalGas plans to conduct discussions to better understand current safety views and find opportunities for improvement. The goal is to create "a more holistic view of safety" and incorporate that view into its practices and processes.
Second, SoCalGas will develop a "more dynamic approach to risk assessment," in response to 2EC's criticism that the company takes safety-related actions merely to comply with rules and regulations. SoCalGas said it intends to introduce a concept called dynamic risk assessment and would integrate the practice into its training and hazard assessments and use it to enhance systems and processes.
Third, SoCalGas said it will address worker complaints about how the company allocates resources. This will include ensuring that it allocates resources for technology, staffing and equipment in a way that aligns with safety and risk management goals. The company also plans to evaluate its safety capabilities and organizational structure and solicit advice from its advisory safety council to implement a "systematic approach to safety and safety culture."
Fourth, to address a lack of an integrated management system, SoCalGas will focus another effort on expanding data gathering and further integrating data collection across information processes and systems. The company said it would pivot toward a model that "incorporates dialogue, feedback, and follow-up." It intends to develop a technology plan that will support an "integrated view of comprehensive safety information" and expand its safety incident management system to include a "more comprehensive view of potential threats and risk."
Enhanced training, Sempra oversight
In a fifth workstream, SoCalGas will foster "a more collaborative learning environment." These initiatives will focus on enhancing and expanding training for leadership and assessing the organization's learning practices.
SoCalGas said the plan will also address 11 specific requirements outlined in an administrative law judge's scoping ruling.
Sempra additionally filed a plan outlining proposed safety culture oversight and its own initiatives. Sempra said it would support SoCalGas' plan through its board of directors' oversight and governance capacity. Sempra has also engaged an outside expert "to explore ways to expand employees' vision of safety, and to promote that vision within Sempra and to Sempra's subsidiary companies."
The CPUC has scheduled an Aug. 18 workshop for SoCalGas and Sempra to present their plans for discussion and public comment.
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