INCIDENT Buncefield Layers of Protection In a facility that generally runs with a high degree of stability, layers of protection that don’t get used can form holes, both figuratively and literally. Examining the Buncefield fire in 2005 could be a textbook example of layers of protection and the “Swiss Cheese Effect.” It’s the illustration that […]
On December 19, 2007. an exothermic reaction at T2 Laboratories, a Jacksonville, Florida-based chemical manufacturer, led to a runaway condition resulting in a massive explosion that killed four workers, injured 32 others and destroyed neighboring businesses. That day, the workers were mixing a batch of methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MCMT), also known as the gasoline additive […]
During the platform fire in 1988, virtually nothing went right, which allows us to draw lessons from a long list of events leading to the hazard. In the aftermath of the huge fire on the Piper Alpha platform, July 6, 1988, it was clear that the fire started and escalated very quickly into a full-blown […]
All manufacturing operations require a safety plan. However, risks can only be minimized when that safety plan is studied, understood and faithfully enacted by the critical stakeholders. These considerations need to involve the human element. Consider how the human element affected the disaster that occurred at the Sayano–Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station in Khakassia, Russia, on […]
INCIDENT History has shown that industrial disasters are rarely the result of some single failure in a plant environment that is otherwise carefully operated and scrupulously maintained. In most situations, an incident, large or small, is the logical and inevitable result of a long series of compromises allowing deterioration of people and equipment. The question, […]
Operator and supervisor errors escalated a process safety incident into a disaster. Could people better trained in oil and gas safety procedures have prevented it, or stopped the process safety incident once the fire stated? On the night of July 6, 1988, five operators were in the control room on Piper Alpha. That was the […]
Related Content Russian Dam Disaster: Assessing the Cost of Failed Safety Practices When disasters like the Sayano–Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station collapse in Khakassia, Russia, occur, it is difficult to… Overcome the Element of Tragedy-Slide The only way to draw positives from such an incident is to learn from the experience so that the same mistakes […]
INCIDENT The Williams Olefins Incident- The Day Multiple Safety Errors Led to a Major Chemical Plant Blast Part 1: How the disaster happened The explosion, which occurred on June 13, 2013, took place when heat levels began to rise in an offline “reboiler”. This increase in heat created an intense amount of pressure due to liquid […]