Older safety systems were a series of individual safety loops: a sensor connected to a logic solver, which activated a final control element. If a level sensor in a tank detected that the liquid was too deep, it sent a signal to its logic solver to close the inlet valve. There could be dozens or […]
Next Why do we have disasters? Occasionally, there are small failures in plants that have a strong safety record with well-trained people and well-structured and demanding maintenance practices. Those small failures sometimes grow into larger incidents, but such situations are generally very rare. Well-run companies seem to have a high degree of “luck” in this […]
Next INCIDENT Sayano–Shushenskaya Dam Disaster Russia’s largest hydro station, operated by RusHydro, a quasi-state-owned utility company, generated enough energy to power a city of 3.8 million people. The station, which was commissioned in 1978, was undergoing repairs and upgrades when the disaster occurred. The main hall was filled with workers focused on their specific tasks. […]
Technical and physical solutions are only part of the larger equation since human operators can have a huge impact on operational safety. Research from the British regulatory body Health and Safety Executive (HSE ) has identified what it considers to be the top-ten factors involving people, primarily the ones working in the control room. Some […]
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 […]
According to a 2012 report by the Energy Practice of Marsh Ltd., a division of insurer Marsh McLennan, the 100 largest property damage losses analyzed within process industries from 1972 to 2011 represent approximately $33 billion in property damage, stated in 2011 prices. Companies with murky safety records will find employee recruitment increasingly difficult, as […]
AREA OF ANALYSIS Safety Culture—Management Sets the Tone An effective risk reduction strategy must be aligned with a corporate safety vision. Everyone in a company has to understand that senior management values safety and expects its people to behave appropriately. Every level of the organization must understand the overarching reasons for the vision, and that […]
