- Email: [email protected]
Hidden pilot plant hazards
FEATURE
Hidden pilot plant hazards By Tom Reinart
T
here are many hazards in any pilot plant, some are easy to identify, but most are very dif®cult to identify. I hope to provide some tools that can be used to help identify these hazards before they bite you or somebody near you. Most major incidents that happen in industry can be tied to hazards large and small that were overlooked and/or ignored. An iceberg can be used as an example of how some hazards can be obvious and others can be hidden. The visible portion of the iceberg represents the smaller group of more obvious hazards. The lower, or unseen portion, of the iceberg represents the larger group of less obvious hazards. With this analogy, you can see how this makes the job of identifying hazards more challenging. The more of these hazards you identify and properly manage, the more you can help to create a safer work environment. Hazards can be found in many forms. A very small sampling of some common forms that can be found in our every day work environment are: mechanical, pressure, temperature, electrical, reactions, and ergonomic. These hazards can be found at home and at work. There are three systems that I will discuss to help identify hidden hazards. Management Systems, Technical Resources, and Employee Involvement. Management Systems can consist of, but are not limited to the following: Safety Audits, Safety Rules, Training, and Process Safety Management (PSM). Safety Audits are very effective at identifying hazards. These audits can be conducted at both the local and the corporate levels. Local audits generally identify different types of hazards than corporate audits. Corporate audits are generally geared to insure that safety systems are in place and functioning Tom Reinart is af®liated with Phillips Petroleum Company, Bartlesville, OK (Tel./fax: 918-661-9614; e-mail: [email protected]). 26
properly. The use of checklists on these audits is a very bene®cial tool to insure that certain areas get inspected during an audit. For example, ®re extinguishers could be on the checklist to verify that they are getting regularly inspected and that they are in safe working condition. The checklist can also be a tool to insure that certain safety systems are in place. It is very bene®cial to have people from a variety of different backgrounds conducting these audits. With a variety of expertise on the audit team, the team tends to ®nd more hazards because they are all looking in different areas. This can also be a very educational experience for the other audit team members. Safety Rules can include a facility's safety manual, a Process Safety Management (PSM) manual, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). These documents will provide the employees with written procedures and policies that are needed to do the job in a safe manor. Training is essential to maintain a competent workforce who understand and have the skills to safely conduct their job duties. Documentation of this training is essential, it provides proof that the employees have actually been trained on the processes that they operate. Process Safety Management (PSM) is a process that is covered by OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119. PSM requires a written description of the design, operation, and hazards of a pilot plant. The following are a few of the more important parts of PSM. Hazard Review (HR) is a process that identi®es the potential hazards that could result from an operating system. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are written procedures that provide the employees with clear instructions on how to safely operate their facility. Management of Change (MOC) consists of any changes in the process whether it is chemicals, equipment, procedures, and/or personnel. The MOC document must be reviewed, approved, and signed off by all of the personnel affected by the changes
ß Division of Chemical Health and Safety of the American Chemical Society Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
as the changes are implemented. Mechanical Integrity (MI) insures that the process equipment is designed and installed in a safe manner and is regularly inspected. Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) is essential and at the heart of any program to manage process safety. PHAs are conducted to ®rst identify and then evaluate the potentially hazardous consequences of process deviation from the range of design intent. Using an organized systematic methodology such as PHA, will assure that the potential for adverse process events are fully identi®ed, known to the employees and safeguarded by appropriate means. The PHA team is made up of key personnel from management, safety, and operations. Technical Resources can consist of, but are not limited to, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), Vendor supplied information, books, magazines, Internet sources, and in-house experts. Of these technical resources, the MSDS is probably the most valuable. MSDS is a document supplied by the manufacturer of a hazardous material. MSDS contains the physical properties and hazards of a product. It can also indicate the proper type of personal protective equipment (PPE) needed when exposed to or handling the given material. MSDS can also supply us with the exposure limits of the given material. With the exception of the in-house experts, the other technical resources are pretty much self-explanatory. Inhouse experts can be a valuable resource that we tend to underestimate. Your co-workers for the most part, can have a large variety of knowledge and expertise that you may be able to use. Don't be embarrassed to ask your co-workers if they can help you with this information. One of the key components of Employee Involvement is open communication. Open communication between co-workers is essential in ®nding hazards. One-way we have found to enhance communications, is with the implementation of an employee owned safety program. We have implemented 1074-9098/03/$30.00 PII S1074-9098(02)00414-8
a Behavior Science Technology (BST) program. This program is designed to modify the employee's behavior by changing awareness, attitude, beliefs, and behaviors, with a focus on safety. We do this by having the employees observe each other during normal everyday work activities. During this observation the observer is giving positive feedback to the observed employee to reinforce the safe behaviors. If there are unsafe conditions or actions observed, this also is discussed and corrected on the spot when possible. If need be, a work order or a work request can be written to correct the unsafe condition. This discussion can also cover the ways that this job could be done more safely or conditions that can be made safer. This observed information is put on a form and is charted along with all of the other observations. This chart tracks the safe versus the unsafe behaviors. This charted information is shared with the whole work force. If we ®nd a trend of unsafe conditions or behaviors in one certain area, we focus our attention in that area to correct the weakness. For example, if ladder safety started to show weakness, we would focus training and safety meetings on ladder safety until we saw results. The BST program has participation from all levels of employees including management and contractors. This has helped bring
our whole work force together as one safety team. The results have been pretty amazing. BST, in conjunction with other systems, have been credited with reducing our annual injury rate from 1.4 in 1990 to just under 0.2 in 1995. This injury rate has stayed at or below this rate to this day. Sharing of information is essential in any system to identify and eliminate hazards. One example of this that we utilize is near miss or accident forms. A near miss is when something happens that might be pretty minor and nobody got hurt, but if conditions would have been slightly different, somebody could have gotten hurt or it could have become a major incident. A near miss form is ®lled out and explains what happened and what can be done to prevent it from happening in the future. This information is shared with the whole work force. The sharing of this information allows the whole work force to learn from these close calls. Daily safety meetings are a great way to share information. These meetings are usually held in the morning, before the work starts. For shift workers this is usually done during shift change. This allows the employees to voice concerns, discuss problems, and pass on any pertinent information. Safety meetings can be held at any time and any place. These meetings can be very
Chemical Health & Safety, January/February 2003
bene®cial when the scope of the job changes or any time that an employee has voiced a safety concern. Equipment inspection is a good tool to prevent equipment failures. Equipment that is under pressure, extreme temperature, or contains hazardous material can be set up to be inspected by quali®ed inspectors on a schedule. Daily equipment inspection by the employee that operates the equipment can also be an important part of this procedure. Predictive Maintenance is a new method of using high tech equipment to check for deteriorating trends in the equipment and correct the problem before it occurs. This reduces down time and chances of dangerous failures. This system is one step ahead of Preventative Maintenance. Preventative Maintenance tries to maintain the equipment to a level that hopes to prevent failure. We must make safety a priority. One of the best ways to do this is by example. If you set a good example at work and at home, it will rub off on the people around you. Actions do talk louder than words. When a safety concern is brought up it must be addressed right away. This safety concern can be corrected on the spot or you can turn in a work request. The work order system should be set up to put priority on safety work orders.
27
Hidden pilot plant hazards By Tom Reinart
T
here are many hazards in any pilot plant, some are easy to identify, but most are very dif®cult to identify. I hope to provide some tools that can be used to help identify these hazards before they bite you or somebody near you. Most major incidents that happen in industry can be tied to hazards large and small that were overlooked and/or ignored. An iceberg can be used as an example of how some hazards can be obvious and others can be hidden. The visible portion of the iceberg represents the smaller group of more obvious hazards. The lower, or unseen portion, of the iceberg represents the larger group of less obvious hazards. With this analogy, you can see how this makes the job of identifying hazards more challenging. The more of these hazards you identify and properly manage, the more you can help to create a safer work environment. Hazards can be found in many forms. A very small sampling of some common forms that can be found in our every day work environment are: mechanical, pressure, temperature, electrical, reactions, and ergonomic. These hazards can be found at home and at work. There are three systems that I will discuss to help identify hidden hazards. Management Systems, Technical Resources, and Employee Involvement. Management Systems can consist of, but are not limited to the following: Safety Audits, Safety Rules, Training, and Process Safety Management (PSM). Safety Audits are very effective at identifying hazards. These audits can be conducted at both the local and the corporate levels. Local audits generally identify different types of hazards than corporate audits. Corporate audits are generally geared to insure that safety systems are in place and functioning Tom Reinart is af®liated with Phillips Petroleum Company, Bartlesville, OK (Tel./fax: 918-661-9614; e-mail: [email protected]). 26
properly. The use of checklists on these audits is a very bene®cial tool to insure that certain areas get inspected during an audit. For example, ®re extinguishers could be on the checklist to verify that they are getting regularly inspected and that they are in safe working condition. The checklist can also be a tool to insure that certain safety systems are in place. It is very bene®cial to have people from a variety of different backgrounds conducting these audits. With a variety of expertise on the audit team, the team tends to ®nd more hazards because they are all looking in different areas. This can also be a very educational experience for the other audit team members. Safety Rules can include a facility's safety manual, a Process Safety Management (PSM) manual, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). These documents will provide the employees with written procedures and policies that are needed to do the job in a safe manor. Training is essential to maintain a competent workforce who understand and have the skills to safely conduct their job duties. Documentation of this training is essential, it provides proof that the employees have actually been trained on the processes that they operate. Process Safety Management (PSM) is a process that is covered by OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119. PSM requires a written description of the design, operation, and hazards of a pilot plant. The following are a few of the more important parts of PSM. Hazard Review (HR) is a process that identi®es the potential hazards that could result from an operating system. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are written procedures that provide the employees with clear instructions on how to safely operate their facility. Management of Change (MOC) consists of any changes in the process whether it is chemicals, equipment, procedures, and/or personnel. The MOC document must be reviewed, approved, and signed off by all of the personnel affected by the changes
ß Division of Chemical Health and Safety of the American Chemical Society Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
as the changes are implemented. Mechanical Integrity (MI) insures that the process equipment is designed and installed in a safe manner and is regularly inspected. Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) is essential and at the heart of any program to manage process safety. PHAs are conducted to ®rst identify and then evaluate the potentially hazardous consequences of process deviation from the range of design intent. Using an organized systematic methodology such as PHA, will assure that the potential for adverse process events are fully identi®ed, known to the employees and safeguarded by appropriate means. The PHA team is made up of key personnel from management, safety, and operations. Technical Resources can consist of, but are not limited to, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), Vendor supplied information, books, magazines, Internet sources, and in-house experts. Of these technical resources, the MSDS is probably the most valuable. MSDS is a document supplied by the manufacturer of a hazardous material. MSDS contains the physical properties and hazards of a product. It can also indicate the proper type of personal protective equipment (PPE) needed when exposed to or handling the given material. MSDS can also supply us with the exposure limits of the given material. With the exception of the in-house experts, the other technical resources are pretty much self-explanatory. Inhouse experts can be a valuable resource that we tend to underestimate. Your co-workers for the most part, can have a large variety of knowledge and expertise that you may be able to use. Don't be embarrassed to ask your co-workers if they can help you with this information. One of the key components of Employee Involvement is open communication. Open communication between co-workers is essential in ®nding hazards. One-way we have found to enhance communications, is with the implementation of an employee owned safety program. We have implemented 1074-9098/03/$30.00 PII S1074-9098(02)00414-8
a Behavior Science Technology (BST) program. This program is designed to modify the employee's behavior by changing awareness, attitude, beliefs, and behaviors, with a focus on safety. We do this by having the employees observe each other during normal everyday work activities. During this observation the observer is giving positive feedback to the observed employee to reinforce the safe behaviors. If there are unsafe conditions or actions observed, this also is discussed and corrected on the spot when possible. If need be, a work order or a work request can be written to correct the unsafe condition. This discussion can also cover the ways that this job could be done more safely or conditions that can be made safer. This observed information is put on a form and is charted along with all of the other observations. This chart tracks the safe versus the unsafe behaviors. This charted information is shared with the whole work force. If we ®nd a trend of unsafe conditions or behaviors in one certain area, we focus our attention in that area to correct the weakness. For example, if ladder safety started to show weakness, we would focus training and safety meetings on ladder safety until we saw results. The BST program has participation from all levels of employees including management and contractors. This has helped bring
our whole work force together as one safety team. The results have been pretty amazing. BST, in conjunction with other systems, have been credited with reducing our annual injury rate from 1.4 in 1990 to just under 0.2 in 1995. This injury rate has stayed at or below this rate to this day. Sharing of information is essential in any system to identify and eliminate hazards. One example of this that we utilize is near miss or accident forms. A near miss is when something happens that might be pretty minor and nobody got hurt, but if conditions would have been slightly different, somebody could have gotten hurt or it could have become a major incident. A near miss form is ®lled out and explains what happened and what can be done to prevent it from happening in the future. This information is shared with the whole work force. The sharing of this information allows the whole work force to learn from these close calls. Daily safety meetings are a great way to share information. These meetings are usually held in the morning, before the work starts. For shift workers this is usually done during shift change. This allows the employees to voice concerns, discuss problems, and pass on any pertinent information. Safety meetings can be held at any time and any place. These meetings can be very
Chemical Health & Safety, January/February 2003
bene®cial when the scope of the job changes or any time that an employee has voiced a safety concern. Equipment inspection is a good tool to prevent equipment failures. Equipment that is under pressure, extreme temperature, or contains hazardous material can be set up to be inspected by quali®ed inspectors on a schedule. Daily equipment inspection by the employee that operates the equipment can also be an important part of this procedure. Predictive Maintenance is a new method of using high tech equipment to check for deteriorating trends in the equipment and correct the problem before it occurs. This reduces down time and chances of dangerous failures. This system is one step ahead of Preventative Maintenance. Preventative Maintenance tries to maintain the equipment to a level that hopes to prevent failure. We must make safety a priority. One of the best ways to do this is by example. If you set a good example at work and at home, it will rub off on the people around you. Actions do talk louder than words. When a safety concern is brought up it must be addressed right away. This safety concern can be corrected on the spot or you can turn in a work request. The work order system should be set up to put priority on safety work orders.
27