Hazard ID and Human Error Flashcards
Why is it important to identify all hazards?
Because it is the hazards that tends to cause accidents. Or the interaction of two or more obvious things can lead to an unusual event.
What are the stages in controlling hazards?
- Identify - we need to predict everything that could happen
- Assess - We need to judge which events are significant.
- Control - Reduce/ eliminate unwanted consequences.
What are some hazards in the work environment?
Improper PPE, improper lifting technique, improper chair height.
Why do we care about controlling hazards?
To prevent injuries or deaths. We need to be able to identify all hazards in the process for this reason.
What are each of these colours associated with in the chemical hazard identification system?
- Blue
- Red
- White
- Yellow
- Blue = Health Hazard
- Red = Fire Hazards, Flash Points
- White = Specific Hazard e.g. acid, alkali, oxidiser
- Yellow = Instability
What is the flash point?
The temperature at which a particular organic compound gives off sufficient vapour to ignite the air.
What numbers are also associated with the colours as a measure of the danger they pose?
- 0 = would be a material that is non-hazardous
- 4 = would be a relatively dangerous material such as low flash point
What are the 2 philosophies behind hazard identification?
- Experience
2. Predictive
What two things are associated with experience in hazard identification?
- Codes of Practice = set down by public notes
- Checklists = tick boxes to show following safety rules
What are codes of practice?
Minimum standards of construction, maintenance, management. Procedures have to comply.
Give some examples of different standards.
- National Standards (BSI)
- Industry Standards (API, CIA)
- Company Standards and Codes
- Company procedures
What are codes of practice based on?
They rely on a body of established practice.
What are checklists?
You tick off things that need to be done. These are for every stage in a design process and operation.
What are checklists based on?
They rely on knowledge and lots of experience. Very experienced people can write a checklist.
What is the significance of the checklists?
Allows you to be able to contradict management above you.
What are the advantages of checklists?
- Allows you to be able to contradict management above you
- Simple to use - little experience required
- Can be “universal”
- Process specific checklists maintain corporate memory of pitfalls
What are the disadvantages of checklists?
- Reactive (It’s from experience that went wrong, not predicting)
- Experience needed to construct checklist
- Need commitment to maintain quality
- Need a complete set of hazards which takes time
What does the predictive philosophy entail?
HAZOP
What does HAZOP stand for?
Hazard and Operability Study
Where in the plant is HAZOP type studies carried out?
At various stages of design, there is usually a final HAZOP at the end when the design is finalised using the Engineering Line Diagram.
What is the aim of HAZOP?
To identify the effect on the process of all possible deviations from normal operation and to assess whether these pose a significant safety risk or operability problem.
HAZOP is a line-by-line study. What happens in each line?
Each variable in the line is assessed. We identify all hazards by checking all possible deviations. Generate every possible way the process can be different and check risk/probability
Give some examples of the team for a HAZOP study.
Chairman, Designers, Operating Management, Chemists, Control Engineers, Mechanical Engineers
Why is there such a wide variety in the HAZOP study team?
All the team need to be able to draw on a lot of experience from ideally a wide variety of processes.
How would we go about a HAZOP study?
The plant is divided into sections. Normal operation of the section is described by the designer, outlining operating conditions and the intention of control. Each line in the section is considered in turn. For each variable deviations from normal operations are generated using a set of guide words.
Give some examples of guide words and to which variables they apply.
- None: can only apply to flow
- More of: the variable is higher than intended (temperature, concentration)
- Less of: the variable is less than intended
- Part of: this refers to composition, a component is missing
- Reverse: flow is in opposite direction
- More than: an extra component is present. Always consider air and water and components present in adjacent sections/ lines.
With what words do we describe a deviation?
A guide word and a variable
For each deviation, what does the team judge?
- the deviation is credible: all causes are justified
- what safeguards they are to prevent/ameliorate the deviation
- what the consequences are and that they are sufficient to need action
- Agree on actions
- Record on feedings