onebp_ career stories - rixio medina
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OneBP: Career stories - Rixio Medina
http://global.bpweb.bp.com/news/internal/2013/Q2-2013/nws-131405-rixio-medina-career-story.aspx[5/14/2013 6:49:56 PM]
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Career stories - Rixio Medina[SOuRce] - Published On 14 May 2013
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Spanning 35 years, Rixio Medina has had a varied career in the safety profession, fromadvising firefighters following a fire in which 154 people died in his native Venezuela, toserving on high-level government bodies and leading different types of audits across theglobe.
Medina joined BP’s Safety and Operational Risk Audit Team, based in Texas, US inJune 2012 having previously worked in a diversity of safety roles, from a fire protectionengineer in Venezuela to serving on the US Chemical Safety and Hazard InvestigationBoard (CSHIB) and National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health(NACOSH).
The memory that stands out the most in in his career was in Venezuela in December1982 when 154 people were killed after an atmospheric storage tank containing fuelclose to Caracas caught fire and there was a boil-over.
“Many of those who died were firefighters, and my line superior, who was also mymentor and the guy who got me into the profession and industry, was among them”.
Medina spent three days advising the authorities and firefighters, but the boil-over hadalready happened.
“Although I had only five years’ experience, I was the first fire protection engineer inVenezuela and familiar with the strategies and field practice of fighting tank fires. It wasmy job to advise the seasoned firemen there, who looked at me with some scepticism.”
He participated in the investigation, and as a result of that incident, the National FireProtection Association went on to make changes to its flammable and combustibleliquids code.
Something that lies close to Medina's heart is the health and safety of Spanish-speakingworkers in the US and it is with this in mind that Medina became a Fellow of theAmerican Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE). Having been born in Venezuela andcome to the US for schooling, he noticed that while fatalities and injuries were droppingamongst most ethnic groups, they were increasing among Hispanic workers.
“For the last seven years, I’ve sponsored, through ASSE, a college scholarship forbilingual individuals pursuing a college education in occupational safety health. I alsosponsor six annual professional development grants for individuals that want to advance
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OneBP: Career stories - Rixio Medina
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their technical knowledge or peruse professional certification in HSSE. And every time Ihave the opportunity to speak on the subject I do”
Oversight of BP’s high hazard assets
BP’s Process Safety Management team (PSM) team have the responsibility to provideoversight of BP’s high hazard assets. As an auditor for this team, Medina helps toassess and manage risk, improve safety and verify conformance with BP practices andprocedures.
Since joining BP, he has been participating in different types of audits across the globe -including Australia, the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
“Most recently, I was at the Whiting Refinery here in the US, on a PSM audit. I reallyenjoy the interaction with the business unit and the S&OR colleagues: with the leadersand the employees at all levels.”
The most important lesson Medina has learnt in life is something that he read a longtime ago by India’s first female Prime Minister, Indira Gandi who said: “There are twotypes of people, those who do the work, and those who take the credit”. With this inmind Medina says he has always tried to concentrate on ‘achieving goals over personalrewards’.
However his record has led to his work being noticed at a very high level and a highlightof his career was receiving a call from the White House in 2003, asking him to serve onthe CSHIB. He has also been appointed to NACOSH, the main advisory body foroccupational safety and health in the US, for the fourth time.
Speaking about his role on the12 strong commitee, Medina said: “I’m one of twooccupational safety representatives at NACOSH. My role is to participate in thecommittee’s public meetings - I not only look after regulations, programmes or conditionsthat may have an impact on workers safety and health, but I also look for things thatmay impact the safety professionals themselves in the performance of their work,contributing to the prevention of work-related fatalities and the reduction of injuries andillnesses.”
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