Achieving Goals
John Driscoll, manager of health, safety and security at ConocoPhillips’ San Francisco Refinery in Rodeo, California, recently was head of the team that helped ConocoPhillips join the PICS consortium for contractor prequalification services. They have partnered with PICS to help achieve their goal to create a safer, more efficient workplace. The San Francisco Refinery produces close to 80,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and is one of 12 US refineries owned by ConocoPhillips.

Driscoll explained how PICS is going to help the team achieve their goals:
“In a very competitive business it is essential to identify, evaluate and execute value- added process changes to make improvements.  Our existing process for safety & financial evaluation and qualification of contractors for our work site is something we very much value, and for years have resisted changing because of our confidence in our people and our methods.  In the last year, due both to changing internal resource demands and an increased emphasis on continuous improvement we got serious about making and drawing conclusions—and making the change if appropriate.  My conclusion was that PICS can do what we do, and can do it with a higher efficiency level.  Making the decision was then easy, and making the change, although always a challenge, is going smoothly.“

Driscoll, a safety professional for 26 years in Refining, Chemicals and Oil Production, understands the benefits of prequalifying contractors. Most importantly, he understands the importance of teaming up with contractors to create a better safety culture for everyone. Driscoll has been at the San Francisco Refinery for 6 years and through personal commitment has ensured that the risks and relative safety are on an ongoing trend of improvement. Being a leader and board member of CAER (Community Awareness and Emergency Response) helps him be more aware of local Contra Costa County issues, and improve the health and safety of employees and residents alike.

Selecting service providers can be difficult, and when Driscoll was asked why he and his team selected PICS for contractor prequalification, he responded with positive referrals from other current customers in dealing with com.picsauditing.PICS. He explained further, “We chose PICS primarily based on comments and recommendation from other COP refining facilities and a couple of local competitors using the service. We actually began discussions and relationship building over two years ago, and the quality of the people with PICS eventually made an impact. I have found John Moreland & Jared Smith to be very professional and customer focused.  To date, I've been completely satisfied with both the timeliness and quality of response and service from them personally.“