Safety experts around the world gathered for the Loss Prevention Asia (LPA) 2019 International Conference and Exhibition in Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur today.

The inaugural LPA 2019 was organised by the Centre of Advanced Process Safety (CAPS) Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) in collaboration with the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Safety Centre and Centre of Risk, Integrity and Safety Engineering (C-RISE) of Memorial University Newfoundland.

With the theme, 'Building Resilience through Advanced Digital Safety and Technology', LPA 2019 discussed on the advancement of technology through the digitalisation of process safety and integration of data analytics on future trends in managing process safety.

The two-day conference was officially opened today by Vice President of Group Health, Safety, Security & Environment PETRONAS and Patron of LPA 2019, Dzafri Sham Ahmad. 

Afterwards, he also witnessed an MoU exchange between UTP and IChemE Safety Centre Australia in the areas of process safety.  With this collaboration, UTP hopes to strengthen its ties between IChemE and role in developing a safety culture in the ASEAN region and the world. 

UTP was represented by its Vice Chancellor Professor Ts Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Abdul Mutalib while IChemE Safety Centre Australia was represented by its Director Trish Kerin.

LPA 2019 aimed to create exposure on the latest innovations and ground-breaking discoveries in process safety.  It featured two keynote speakers, four plenary speakers and two panel discussions to provide thought-provoking insights on loss prevention.

The two keynote speakers were Dzafri Sham Ahmad and Director of Petroleum Safety Division DOSH, Mohd Anuar Embi with the topic 'The Impact of Technology on Process Safety Management in Malaysia".

Meanwhile, the plenary speakers were Peter Godfrey Managing Director – Asia Pacific The Energy Institute United Kingdom with the topic 'Bridging Human Performance with Systems Thinking - The Future of Loss Prevention Management' while Anurag Lodha Senior Manager Africa & Asia Pacific HSE Lead Accenture delivered a topic entitled 'HSE in Digitalisation – the Impact and Challenges'.

Other plenary speakers were Simon Farrar Director of Major Hazards & Systems WorkSafe Victoria Australia with the topic 'Australian Regulatory Perspective on Digitalisation of Process Safety and Data' and Darmawan Ahmad Mukharror Process Safety Expert PT Keselamatan Proses Indonesia with the topic 'Digitisation in Process Safety in Indonesia - Reality and Opportunity.'

The closing ceremony was officiated by the Director of Institute of Contaminant Management UTP and Chairman of LPA 2019 Professor Dr Azmi Mohd Shariff on 26 November 2019.