Unit 3.4: Overview of Safe Operating Procedures at Workplace

Transcription

1 Unit 3.4: Overview of Safe Operating Procedures at Workplace Lecture Objectives 1.1 Permits to work requirement- examples of jobs requiring 1.2 List the elements of a PPE program 1.3 Describe the elements of accident reporting; OSH regulations; difference between accident, incident, near miss. 1.4 Describe the procedure for LOTO 1.5 Outline basic procedures for emergency response. 1.6 Use the information learned to develop a Job Safety Analysis for a particular task. Permits to work Introduction Safe systems of work are crucial in work such as the maintenance of chemical plant where the potential risks are high and the careful coordination of activities and precautions is essential to safe working. In this situation and others of similar risk potential, the safe system of work is likely to take the form of a permitto-work procedure. The permit-to-work procedure is a specialized type of safe system of work for ensuring that potentially very dangerous work (e.g. entry into process plant and other confined spaces) is done safely. Although this procedure has been developed and refined by the chemical industry, the principles of the permit-to-work procedure are equally applicable to the management of complex risks in other industries. The fundamental principle is that certain defined operations are prohibited without the specific permission of a responsible manager, this permission being only granted once stringent checks have been made to ensure that all necessary precautions have been taken and that it is safe for work to go ahead. The people doing the work take on responsibility for following and maintaining the safeguards set out in the permit, which will define the work to be done (no other work being permitted) and the timescale in which it must be carried out. To be effective, the permit system requires the training needs of those involved be identifying and meeting, and that monitoring procedures ensure that the system is operating as intended. 1

2 Permit-to-work procedures The permit-to-work procedure is a specialized type of safe system of work under which certain categories of high risk potential work may only be done with the specific permission of an authorized manager. This permission (in the form of the permit to work) will be given only if the laid-down precautions are in force and have been checked. The permit document will typically specify: what work is to be done; the plant/equipment involved, and how it is identified; who is authorized to do the work; the steps which have already been taken to make the plant safe; potential hazards which remain, or which may arise as the work proceeds; the precautions to be taken against these hazards; for how long the permit is valid; that the equipment is released to those who are to carry out the work. In accepting the permit, the person in charge of doing the authorized work normally undertakes to take/maintain whatever precautions are outlined in the permit. The permit will also include spaces for: signature certifying that the work is complete; signature confirming re-acceptance of the plant/ equipment. Types of Permits Examples of a permitting system could include: Hot work Permit any maintenance procedure that produces a spark or excessive heat or requires welding and burning. 2

3 Energy isolation procedure, lock out/tag out isolates potentially hazardous forms of energy; electricity, pressurized gases and liquids, gravity and spring tension. Confined space entry, permit to enter designed to protect employees from oxygen deficient atmospheres, hazardous conditions, power- driven equipment, and toxic and flammable materials. 3

4 Opening or blinding permit removing blinds, installing blinds, or opening vessels, lines and equipment. Blinding involves disconnecting a pipe and attaching a physical barrier to its end so that materials are prevented from flowing out of the pipe. Unplugging permit barricades area, clears lines for unplugging, informs personnel, issues opening blinding permit and issues unplugging permit. Routine maintenance permit general maintenance and mechanical work that does not include hot work or opening a vessel. The following permit systems are the most common in the industry: 1. Confined space entry 2. The control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout) 3. Hot work 4. Opening or blinding Permits 5. Routine Maintenance Permits 4

5 Accident Investigation & Reporting Accident is an unplanned event resulting in injury or illness, damage to property, plant, material or the environment, or loss of business opportunity. Near miss is any incident that could have resulted in an accident. Both are incidents Accidents have direct (immediate) causes and indirect (root or underlying) causes. Direct causes: Unsafe Acts Unsafe Conditions or Personal factors (stress, lack of knowledge, skill, motivation etc) Task factors (work conditions etc) Indirect causes eg.: Management factors( lack of procedures, financial restrictions, poor communication etc) Accident reporting Accidents should be reported by workers to those in charge i.e. supervisors who then report to managers. This ensures prevention of further accidents and communication of findings, once accidents are investigated. Why might an employee not want to report an incident? Investigation process should: Gather info : witnesses, observations, interviews, documents, Analyse info Compare with standards and regs Generate report - Implement findings and corrective action be timely Ask what, when, where, why, who and how, to identify immediate causes Ask five why s until the root causes are identified Accident reports should contain: Time, place, date of accident Who was involved Description of accident and events leading up to it Possible immediate, root causes and recommendations Corrective action date and responsibility Investigation team, signature of leader 5

6 According to the OSH Act T&T, Accidents should be reported to the Agency immediately and directly (phone, fax, ), and written within 48 hrs for death, critical injury or public is affected. Scene must not be tampered with, disturbed in anyway unless to save life or equip. damage etc Companies are required to submit monthly accident statistics to various bodies eg. The oil and gas sector must submit these to the Ministry of Energy for data analysis. Root Cause analysis Scenario # 1 The Plant Manager walked into the plant and found oil on the floor. He told the foreman to have maintenance clean up the oil. The next day while the Plant Manager was in the same area of the plant he found oil on the floor again and he subsequently raked the Foreman over the coals for not following his directions from the day before. His parting words were to either get the oil cleaned up or he'd find someone that would. Scenario # 2 an eg. of root cause analysis The Plant Manager walked into the plant and found oil on the floor. He asked the foreman why there was oil on the floor. The Foreman indicated that it was due to a leaky gasket in the pipe joint above. The Plant Manager then asked when the gasket had been replaced and the Foreman responded that Maintenance had installed 4 gaskets over the past few weeks and they each one seemed to leak. The Foreman also indicated that Maintenance had been talking to Purchasing about the gaskets because it seemed they were all bad. The Plant Manager then talked with Purchasing about the situation with the gaskets. The Purchasing Manager indicated that they had received a bad batch of gaskets from the supplier. The Purchasing Manager also indicated that they had been trying for the past 2 months to try to get the supplier to make good on the last order of 5,000 gaskets that all seemed to be bad. The Plant Manager then asked the Purchasing Manager why they had purchased from this supplier if they were so disreputable and the Purchasing Manager said because they were the lowest bidder when quotes were received from various suppliers. The Plant Manager then asked the Purchasing Manager why they went with the lowest bidder and he indicated that was the direction he had received from the VP of Finance. The Plant Manager then went to talk to the VP of Finance about the situation. When the Plant Manager asked the VP of Finance why Purchasing had been directed to always take the lowest bidder the VP of Finance said, "Because you indicated that we had to be as cost conscious as possible!" and purchasing from the lowest bidder saves us lots of money. The Plant Manger was horrified when he realized that he was the reason there was oil on the plant floor. Bingo! Sometimes accidents can be multicausal and represented on the fishbone diagram. 6

7 Emergency response: o Bomb Threats o Fire and Explosions o Hazardous Material Release o Suspicious Package o Adverse Weather o Major Threat or Incident in Tri-State Area o Utility Outage o Aided Case / Person Needing Assistance o Death or Serious Injury o Workplace Violence o Gunfire (Active Shooter) o Hostage Situation May be caused by Failures due to mechanical (malfunctioning valve), electrical (arcing), computer(glitch), structural (pressure vessel rupture), human error (wrong interpretation of message, contractor error) Key personnel in emergency response plan: Incident commander co-ordinating other personnel, initiating notification procedures, assessing emergency continuously and adjusting, Fire wardens ensure evacuation, guide persons to muster point, attempt to extinguish fire Muster point warden take head count Security should have the number/names of person on the premises. Crisis Response Team The Crisis Response Team fulfills many operational functions during an emergency, and is the primary vehicle for managing emergency response from an operational standpoint. The Crisis Response Teams consist of the designated representatives from the following areas: Incident Commander (IC) and Chair of the Crisis Response Team: Executive Vice President, Administration & Finance Business Office: Associate Vice President of Administration & Finance/ Controller (acting (IC) in the absence of the Executive Vice President, Administration and Finance) Security: Director of Security Facilities: Director of Facilities Chemical Hygiene: Chemical Hygiene Officer Academic Affairs: Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Institutional Advancement: Director of Development Information Technology: Director of Information Technology Food Service: Director of Food Service 7

8 Residence Life: Director of Residence Life Student Affairs: Dean of Students They determine and update information regarding the scope and impact of the incident Prioritize emergency actions Deploy and coordinate resources and equipment Communicate critical information and instructions through the appropriate command chain and to the Executive Council Monitor and re-evaluate conditions Coordinate actions with government agencies Five steps to emergency response: 1. Secure area 2. Approach with care 3. Identify products ( hazards etc) 4. Assess situation (fire/spill/leak, people, property, env, evacuation necessary?, weather conditions) 5. Respond (command, communicate, rescue, contain, reassess) Emergency response plan should have: Site/evacuation map MP, fire ext, exits and escapes, first aid stations, you are here, north direction List of contact numbers national emergency numbers as well as key personnel Identification of key personnel including photo An Evacuation Map: The basic layout of the property including walls and doors. Show the outside of the property as well because you need to indicate a marshal or congregation area for people to go to in the event of an emergency. The starting point. This is the location of the map (and therefore the person reading it). Make a large red dot and label it You Are Here. The compass. Show a basic compass in the corner of the map indicating the direction of North with the letter N. Exit points. Highlight the exterior doors and label them as Exit on your map. These exit points need to be clear and accessible at all times. They also should not be locked in a way that requires a key to open them when exiting. The marshal area. This is the place where evacuees should meet. It should be a safe distance away from the building to provide adequate protection from fire and any onsite hazards such as chemicals or explosive materials. Draw the marshal area on your map using a red circle and label it Marshal Area. Fire extinguishers. Use a small fire extinguisher icon and the label Fire Extinguisher to show the location of all the extinguishers on your map. If there s a firefighting station on the property, show that as well and label it Fire Station. First aid kits and stations. Use a blue cross and the appropriate labels to show the location of first aid kits and first aid rooms. 8

9 Other important elements. You can also show certain things such as eyewash stations, stairways that lead out of the building, and other safety stations that might be specific to your industry or business. 3. Display the Maps in High Traffic Areas For an evacuation map to be useful, it has to be visible. Display it on a bare wall in easy view of the surrounding area. If you have multiple maps, make a different map for each diplay location with a unique You Are Here element. It s also a good idea to orient each map (turn it) in a way that makes sense to the display location so users can quickly see where they are and how to exit. The best way to understand this is, if you re facing the map and you remove it from the wall and lay it flat, the elements to the left of you will be to the left of your location marked on the map. Muster point should be upwind. Points to note: Conduct routine drills to see shortcomings of system Know emergency alarms(manual, or automatic, what each sound means) Fire detectors and smoke detectors Exits well lit, clear, clearly marked Emergency lighting 9

10 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT PPE is equipment worn by a worker to minimize exposure to specific occupational hazards. Examples of PPE include respirators, gloves, aprons, fall protection, and full body suits, as well as head, eye and foot protection. Hazards exist in every workplace so strategies to protect workers are essential. The priority should be the elimination and control of hazards at their source or along the path between the source and the worker. Many methods are available, and those most appropriate to the specific situation should be used. Controlling a hazard at its source should be the first choice because this method will eliminate it from the workplace altogether or isolate it from the worker. This approach may require substitution of a material with non hazardous ones, isolation of hazards, addition of safety features to existing equipment, redesign of the work processes, or purchase of new equipment. When the hazard cannot be removed or controlled adequately, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) may be used if the work process is to continue. PPE should be considered as the last level of protection when all other methods are not available or possible. Personal protective equipment (ppe) must fit well, worker trained in use, of approved standards Hard hats clearance, no stickers/ paints/glues, inspections for cracks Safety glasses (flying objects), goggles(splashes), faceshields Ear muffs (high freq noise & vibration), ear plugs (disposable) Foot protection different for different applications Gloves protect against cuts, heat, shock, cold, abrasion, chemicals. Can be cotton, leather wrist or elbow length Aprons Safety harness and lanyard fall protection Respiratory respirator (fit well, proper cartridge, clean filters), gas mask, SCBA, remote air 10

11 LOCKOUT/TAGOUT PROCEDURE Lockout of equipment is done whenever equipment needs to be inspected or for maintenance: Electrical equipment needs to be de-energized. Live circuits and equipment left in the operable mode are always a hazard. It should always be assumed that a circuit is alive unless it is proven dead. To make certain, switches and circuit breakers carrying current to or from switchboards, buses, controls, starting equipment should be checked to see that they are open. As an additional safeguard, the inspector (usually an electrician) should have the breakers and the switches locked open, grounded and tagged so they cannot be energized. This is considered for rotating and intermittent starting equipment. When do we do a lockout procedure? When doing inspection or repairs on equipment such as motors, blowers, compressors any part of which may be remotely controlled or which will automatically start, circuit breakers or switches should be locked out, and the fuses pulled. Machinery connected to blowers or pumps without check valves, may start to rotate with a supply current. For this reason the rotor or armature should be blocked before an inspection is made. Lockout procedures should be followed on generators driven by prime movers. The throttle, starting valve or other means of controlling the energy of the driving part of the unit should be locked and tagged. 11

12 THE LOCKOUT PROCEDURE 1. Alert the operator and other users of the system to be shut off. 2. Plan the shutdown to ensure that the system will be shut off. 3. Place your own padlock on the control switch, lever or valve even though someone has locked out the control before you. YOU WILL NOT BE PROTECTED UNLESS YOU USE YOUR OWN LOCK. Sign and blocks are no substitutes for locking out the source off electrical power. 4. Test the lockout to be sure the system is really off. 5. Do work with peace of mind. 6. When through working, remove your own padlock. Never permit anyone to remove your lock, and be sure you are not exposing another person to danger. Verify the equipment is clear and post a watch if necessary. 7. Re-energize the system. 12