accidents don’t have to happen
DESCRIPTION
ACCIDENTS DON’T HAVE TO HAPPEN. Three elements of a successful safety process: • Hazard analysis • Pro-active planning • Employee participation. RECIPE FOR DISASTER. Piper Alpha was similar to other oil rigs. Yet there were some important differences: - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
ACCIDENTS DON’T HAVE TO HAPPEN
Three elements of a successful safety process:
• Hazard analysis
• Pro-active planning
• Employee participation.
RECIPE FOR DISASTER
Piper Alpha was similar to other oil rigs. Yet there were some important differences:
• Design changes compromised crew and equipment safety.
• Changes to normal operating routine were normal practice.
• Few audits and quality checks to prevent unsafe practices.
RECIPE FOR DISASTER
• Limited personnel training on work permitting and emergency procedures
• Degraded work permit system
• Personnel not routinely drilled in emergency and disaster procedures.
continued
DESIGN CHANGES
When Piper Alpha was modified a hazard analysis would have shown:
• Potentially hazardous gas extraction equipment built close to the Control Room endangered people.
• Gas pipelines were installed close to oil piping.
• Blast walls were not installed.
NORMAL OPERATING PROCEDURES
• When divers worked near seawater intakes, fire control pumps had to be placed in MANUAL mode.
• But unlike other platforms, pumps were routinely switched from AUTO to MANUAL.
MANAGEMENT OF CHANGE
Two important processes were left out:
• Management of Change Procedure
• Process Hazard Analysis
WORK PERMITSAND AUDITSA strict work permit system with routine audits could have identified:
• Routine loss/misfiling of work permits
• Missing checks that ensured proper notification
• Weaknesses in personnel training
• Casual attitude toward work permits and safety
• Lack of communication between crucial personnel.
SAFETY – PART OF A PROCESS• Safety policies and procedures need to be
understood, followed and audited.
• Safety is everyone’s responsibility.
• Each time you act, weigh the risks of that action.
EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN
Regularly scheduled emergency and evacuation drills might have identified and corrected:
• Slowly operating extendable gangway on the Faros safety vessel
• No alternate escape routes in case of fire
• Not shutting down transfer operations on neighboring rigs
• No alternate emergency control space.
EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN
• Indecisive action in emergencies.
• Insufficient emergency evacuation training. Knowing your role in an emergency can save lives.
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IMPORTANCE OF TRAININGGood safety training covers:
• Work permit system
• Emergency and disaster action plans
• Changes to normal operating procedures
• Basic operational risk analysis
• Emergency shutdown procedures
• Roles, responsibilities and lines of authority.
LINES OF COMMUNICATIONClear lines of communication and authority are necessary in an emergency between:
• Maintenance and production personnel
• On-site and off-site facilities
• Emergency responders.
LINES OF COMMUNICATION
Routine emergency drills might have shown the need for better communication between all personnel.
Operating managers need authority to make difficult decisions quickly.
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SUMMARY
A complete safety program should include:
• Management of Change Procedures – for reviewing changes in design and to normal procedures
• Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) – to analyze risks and hazards of actions
• Work Permit System – strictly enforced and audited
SUMMARY
• Emergency and Disaster Plan – clearly defined steps and actions
• Training – classroom, hands-on and regularly scheduled emergency/evacuation drills
• Operational Risk Analysis – every worker, every day considering the risks of each action.
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