Aker Kvaerner wins Frank Lees Medal

19 May 2006

The Safety and Loss Prevention Subject Group of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) has awarded the Frank Lees* Medal for 2005 to two Aker Kvaerner employees, in recognition of their, and the company’s ongoing contribution to safety in the process industries.


The Frank Lees Medal is awarded to Aker Kvaerner’s Lyn Fernie, Vice President of Consultancy Services, and Jo Fearnley, Environment, Health, Safety (EHS) & Risk Senior Consultant, for a paper presented at the 7th World Congress of Chemical Engineering held in Glasgow, Scotland, in July 2005. The award is made annually by the IChemE’s Safety and Loss Prevention Subject Group for the most meritorious publication on the topic of safety and loss prevention in an IChemE publication or communications channel.

“Our paper was selected from a wide range of publications such as journals, books, symposia and web resources, so we are delighted to be awarded this medal. It is a testament to the expertise of our consultants and quality of the work we do,” says Lyn Fernie.

The paper, entitled ’Best practice for the design and operation of high hazard sites’, discussed the issues associated with the adoption of relevant good practice for high hazard sites. Given that the definitions of good practice and best practice for high hazard sites are not consistently understood, and that people frequently use the two terms interchangeably, the paper sought to discuss the practical implications. A case study was utilised to outline the difficulty with defining relevant good practice and the potential costs that can be associated with a good practice improvement programme.

Fernie explains: “For a high hazard situation meeting good practice alone may be insufficient and additional risk reduction measures may be necessary to reduce the risks. When designing a new manufacturing site, relevant good practice can be adopted at relatively low cost. However, when dealing with older assets, the costs associated with demonstrating that the site was designed, built and operated in accordance with relevant good practice can be significant, especially where a review indicates that equipment upgrades are required.”

“However for new build projects good practice may not be considered adequate, and it is expected that new designs should consider any higher standards beyond good practice that are already being achieved elsewhere, which is the current best practice in a similar field. Therefore, this necessitates a complete review of the process route selected, but also the buildings and facilities, safe limits of operation, human factor aspect and management systems,” adds Fernie.

The Frank Lees Medal was presented to Aker Kvaerner’s Lyn Fernie and Jo Fearnley, during the AGM and Presidential address at the Institution of Chemical Engineers Assembly, held on the 5 May.

*Frank Lees was Professor at Loughborough University and was one of the leading independent investigators in the Piper Alpha inquiry. He has made major contributions to safety literature including the two-volume reference work ’Loss Prevention in the Process Industries’, which he completely rewrote, bringing every aspect up to date.



AKER KVÆRNER ASA, through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“Aker Kvaerner”), is a leading global provider of engineering and construction services, technology products and integrated solutions. The business within Aker Kvaerner comprises several industries, including Oil & Gas, Refining & Chemicals, Mining & Metals, Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology, Power Generation and Pulp & Paper. The Aker Kvaerner group is organised into two principal business streams, namely Oil & Gas and E&C, each consisting of a number of separate legal entities. Aker Kvaerner is used as the common brand/trademark for most of these entities.

The parent company in the group is Aker Kværner ASA. Aker Kvaerner has aggregated annual revenues of approximately NOK 41.5 billion and employs approximately 20,000 people in more than 30 countries.

Aker Kvaerner is part of the Aker Group (www.akerasa.com), a leading multi-industry powerhouse with more than 40 000 employees and NOK 60 billion revenues. Aker owns 50.01 per cent of Aker Kvaerner, and the group is also a major European shipbuilder and a significant participant in the fisheries industry.

AK Process is a trading name of Aker Kvaerner Projects Ltd. and a wholly owned subsidiary of AKER KVAERNER ASA. AK Process serves the chemicals and polymers, refining and onshore oil & gas industries. It provides the full life cycle of a project from concept studies, through to design, engineering, project management, delivery of process technologies, procurement, construction and maintenance services. As a pure project execution/EPC specialist, AK Process can provide customers with strategic ’one-off’ services or full turnkey solutions under a single project management control. It works with its customers in the development of major technological innovations, having participated in the conceptualisation and implementation of ideas, which are the foundation for world-class production facilities. Also offered are consultancy services in reliability, business modelling and environmental, health, safety and risk management.

This press release may include forward-looking information or statements and is subject to our disclaimer, see our web-pages www.akerkvaerner.com

caption: Greg Lewin, IChemE President, presents the Frank Lees Award to Aker Kvaerner’s Jo Fearnley - Environment, Health, Safety (EHS) & Risk Senior Consultant, and Lyn Fernie (centre), Vice President of Consultancy Services.

Contact Information

Vanessa Mourant

Communications Manager - E&C Europe

Aker Kvaerner

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