Application of CREAM human reliability model to cargo loading process of LPG tankers

The storage and handling processes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) constitutes a complex operational environment in the maritime mode of transportation. The LPG cargo is carried by specially designed ships called LPG tankers. The LPG cargo loading and discharging operations have always potential hazards. Thus, the crew on-board LPG tankers should be fully aware of operational risks during the cargo handling process, which includes various critical tasks such as drying, inerting, gassing-up, cooling, and reliquefaction. During these stages, human reliability (operation without failure) plays a crucial role in sustainable transportation of cargo. Human reliability analysis (HRA), related to various parameters such as the human factor, technology, and ergonomics, is always a critical consideration as regards maritime safety and environment. The main focus of the research is to systematically predict human error potentials for designated tasks and to determine the required safety control levels on-board LPG ships. The paper adopted CREAM (Cognitive reliability and error analysis method) basic and extended versions in order to assess human reliability along with the cargo loading process on-board LPG tanker ships. Specifically, the model is demonstrated with an operational case study. Consequently, the research provides should contribute to maritime safety at sea and prevention of human injury and loss of life on-board LPG ship.     

Quantitative evaluation of precautions on chemical tanker operations

Large quantities of liquid chemicals are carried by chemical tankers all over seas. Chemical cargoes have different properties and chemical tankers are complex ships that are designed to carry different types of chemical cargoes. Carriage of chemical cargoes contains different hazards both for human life and marine environment. There are several cargo operations that are regularly done on chemical tankers such as loading, discharging, inerting, washing tanks, sampling, and freeing gas. These operations constitute their own risks. Therefore, risk assessment has become a critical issue in maritime industry. The present investigation of this study is attempting to examine the priorities of precautions that are taken by chemical tankers before, during, and after cargo operations. Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used for prioritizing the precautions in order to clarify the risk assesment option that will be used for pro-active approach to prevent marine casualties. The main aim of this study is to identify an appropriate management tool to increase the level of safety for chemical tankers during cargo operations at a terminal by using the results of AHP application.     

多因素耦合的加工车间关键风险因素定量分析

为了准确分析加工车间关键风险因素,考虑多风险因子交互影响的情境,提出了一种基于模糊决策实验室分析法的加工车间关键风险因素定量分析方法。首先,从人员、设备、环境、物料和管理因素等5个维度辨识加工车间风险因素并建立风险因素集;基于此,采用三角模糊数对专家判断语义进行表征,然后运用DEMATEL法计算多因素耦合下的风险重要度,从而确定加工车间的关键风险因素。最后,以安徽省某机械加工车间为例,说明所提出方法的应用过程。结果表明,加强对安全制度和安全文化建设等关键风险因素的控制,有助于加工车间的风险控制,改善车间生产安全。     

An integrated methodology to manage risk factors of aging urban oil and gas pipelines

Aging urban oil and gas pipelines have a high failure probability due to their structural degradation and external interference. The operational safety of the aging urban oil and gas pipeline is challenged by different hazards. This paper proposes a novel methodology by integrating an index-based risk evaluation system and fuzzy TOPSIS model for risk management of aging urban oil and gas pipelines, and it is carried out by evaluating the priority of hazards affecting pipeline safety. Firstly, the hazard factors of aging urban oil and gas pipelines are identified to establish an index-based risk evaluation system. Subsequently, the fuzzy TOPSIS model is employed to evaluate the importance of these hazard factors and to decide which factors should be managed with priority. This work measures the importance of a hazard factor from three aspects, i.e. occurrence (O), severity (S) and detectability (D), and the weights of these three parameters are determined by a combination weight method. Eventually, the proposed methodology is tested by an industrial case to illustrate its effectiveness, and some safety strategies to reduce the operational risk of the pipeline are presented. The proposed methodology is a useful tool to implement more efficient risk management of aging urban oil and gas pipelines.     

基于层次-模糊评价法的山区油气管道地质灾害易发性研究

针对山区油气管道地质灾害的基本特征,将层次分析与模糊综合评价相结合,建立起可用于山区管道地质灾害易发性评价的层次-模糊评价模型;并从自然因素、管道敷设状况、灾害活动和设计与误操作四个方面建立山区油气管道地质灾害易发性评价体系.首先依据专家经验构造各层影响因素的判断矩阵,并利用层次分析法求出各影响因素的权重集,然后对山区油气管道地质灾害易发性进行多级模糊综合评价,最终根据评价结果确定山区油气管道地质灾害易发性等级.通过具体实例检验了本文所建立评价方法的应用效果.     

Experimental study of the VOC emitted from crude oil tankers

Light hydrocarbons vaporize to the space between crude oil interface and roof of the storage tank during loading of crude oil tankers in marine oil terminals. When crude oil is loaded to the tank, these hydrocarbons are vented into the atmosphere which is considered as a main source of emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in oil terminals. VOCs emitted from the crude oil not only create severe air pollution problems but also a considerable amount of valuable hydrocarbons are wasted to the atmosphere. On the other hand, VOCs are flammable which create major safety hazards to the loading process. Therefore, the oil industry has largely focused on control of VOCs. In this research, an experimental study was conducted to characterize VOCs emitted from storage tanks of crude oil in a large-scale oil export terminal. Using the industrial data and simple mathematical tools, effect of different parameters on the composition of emitted gases was investigated. Furthermore, an experimental procedure is proposed to assess the potential of a crude oil absorption process for recovering emitted gases. Experimental results showed that the crude oil absorption process can be adapted to the situation of considered marine terminal for recovering this vent stream of emitted gases. This work can help plant engineers to decide on an appropriate strategy to control VOCs.     

Pythagorean fuzzy VIKOR-based approach for safety risk assessment in mine industry

Introduction: Underground mining is considered one of the most hazardous industries and is often associated with serious work-related fatalities; this paper addresses job-related hazards and associated risks. Method: A risk assessment approach is proposed (Pythagorean fuzzy environment) and a case study is carried out in an underground copper and zinc mine. Results: Results of the study demonstrate that hazards can be categorized into different risk levels via compromised solutions of the fuzzy approach. Conclusion: The study provides a theoretical contribution by suggesting a Pythagorean fuzzy numbers-based VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (PFVIKOR) approach. Moreover, it contributes to improving overall safety levels of underground mining by considering and advising on the potential hazards of risk management. Practical applications: The proposed approach will improve the existing safety risk assessment mechanism in underground copper and zinc mining.     

Fuzzy fault tree analysis for fire and explosion of crude oil tanks

Crude oil tank fire and explosion (COTFE) is the most frequent type of accident in petroleum refineries, oil terminals or storage which often results in human fatality, environment pollution and economic loss. In this paper, with fault tree qualitative analysis technique, various potential causes of the COTFE are identified and a COTFE fault tree is constructed. Conventional fault tree quantitative analysis calculates the occurrence probability of the COTFE using exact probability data of the basic events. However, it is often very difficult to obtain corresponding precise data and information in advance due to insufficient data, changing environment or new components. Fuzzy set theory has been proven to be effective on such uncertain problems. Hence, this article investigates a hybrid approach of fuzzy set theory and fault tree analysis to quantify the COTFE fault tree in fuzzy environment and evaluate the COTFE occurrence probability. Further, importance analysis for the COTFE fault tree, including the Fussell–Vesely importance measure of basic events and the cut sets importance measure, is performed to help identifying the weak links of the crude oil tank system that will provide the most cost-effective mitigation. Also, a case study and analysis is provided to testify the proposed method.     

二阶模糊安全评估方法及其在油库安全评价中的应用

通过分析油库安全因素的层次关系,将影响油库安全的因素划分为人员、装备、管理以及环境因素等不同的层次,并对油库安全指标、各层次间的评估方法以及模糊运算方法进行研究,建立针对油库安全的二阶综合模糊评估模型,给出评估的整体流程。评估过程中以改进的层次分析法确定不同层次和因素的重要度,以加权平均方法为模糊运算准则。利用建立的评估体系对某油库的安全状况进行评估,并根据总体评估结果和各层次评估结果中的不足,提出了油库安全整改意见。评估实施过程表明:该二阶综合模糊评估模型避免了评估中的主观因素,并且可操作性好,评估过程易于实现。     

模糊综合评价法在油气管道跨越工程风险评价中的应用

油气管道跨越工程项目开工数量不断增加,随之而来的安全、环保事故也大量发生。油气管道跨越工程进行风险评价对项目的安全、环保实施具有重要意义。利用节点分析方法对油气管道跨越工程进行风险识别,针对风险识别结果利用模糊综合评价法进行评价,得到油气管道跨越工程各施工单元的安全级数,评价结论为工程的安全、环保管理提供科学的依据。评价方法具有一定的应用和推广价值。     

Dynamic risk assessment for underground gas storage facilities based on Bayesian network

Loss of the underground gas storage process can have significant effects, and risk analysis is critical for maintaining the integrity of the underground gas storage process and reducing potential accidents. This paper focuses on the dynamic risk assessment method for the underground gas storage process. First, the underground gas storage process data is combined to create a database, and the fault tree of the underground gas storage facility is built by identifying the risk factors of the underground gas storage facility and mapping them into a Bayesian network. To eliminate the subjectivity in the process of determining the failure probability level of basic events, fuzzy numbers are introduced to determine the prior probability of the Bayesian network. Then, causal and diagnostic reasoning is performed on the Bayesian network to determine the failure level of the underground gas storage facilities. Based on the rate of change of prior and posterior probabilities, sensitivity and impact analysis are combined to determine the significant risk factors and possible failure paths. In addition, the time factor is introduced to build a dynamic Bayesian network to perform dynamic assessment and analysis of underground gas storage facilities. Finally, the dynamic risk assessment method is applied to underground gas storage facilities in depleted oil and gas reservoirs. A dynamic risk evaluation model for underground gas storage facilities is built to simulate and validate the dynamic risk evaluation method based on the Bayesian network. The results show that the proposed method has practical value for improving underground gas storage process safety.     

An extension to Fuzzy Fault Tree Analysis (FFTA) application in petrochemical process industry

Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is an established technique in risk management associated with identified hazards specific to focused fields. It is a comprehensive, structured and logical analysis method aimed at identifying and assessing hazards of complex systems. To conduct a quantitative FTA, it is essential to have sufficient data. By considering the fact that sufficient data is not always available, the FTA method can be adopted into the problems under fuzzy environment, so called as Fuzzy Fault Tree Analysis (FFTA). This research extends FFTA methodology to petrochemical process industry in which fire, explosion and toxic gas releases are recognized as potential hazards. Specifically, the case study focuses on Deethanizer failure in petrochemical plant operations to demonstrate the proposed methodology. Consequently, the study has provided theoretical and practical values to challenge with operational data shortage in risk assessment.     

基于DEMATEL的机械生产人员行为形成关键因子分析

针对机械生产人员安全行为形成受多种因素交互影响的问题,提出了一种基于模糊数学和DEMATEL法耦合的机械生产人员行为形成关键因子量化分析方法。首先,运用行为形成因子分析方法确定机械生产人员作业行为影响因素,构建了包含5个因子大类和24个因子因素的机械生产人员行为形成因子体系,然后运用三角模糊数表征因素间的关联程度,并通过问卷调查获取数据,从而借助DEMATEL法构建机械生产人员行为形成关键因子分析模型。最后,通过一个算例,说明所提出分析模型的运用过程。结果表明,所建立的方法可以定量确定机械生产人员行为形成关键因子。     

因果图和模糊综合风险评价在城市燃气输配系统的应用

针对复杂的城市燃气输配系统,利用因果图和模糊综合评价相结合的方法对其进行风险分析.因果图能找出影响城市燃气输配系统失效的因素,模糊综合评价则可在其基础上对风险量化.以某市的燃气输配系统为例描述了该方法的步骤.结果表明,因果图和模糊综合评价相结合的方法合理且易于工程应用.     

An Overview of the Nature of Hydrocarbon Jet Fire Hazards in the Oil and Gas Industry and a Simplified Approach to Assessing the Hazards

High pressure jet fires pose a serious hazard to offshore installations operated by the oil and gas industry as demonstrated by the Piper Alpha incident. Following the Piper Alpha incident a major initiative by the offshore oil and gas industry operators led to the production of Interim Guidance Notes which provided guidance to operators on how to assess jet fire hazards. However, many areas of uncertainty were identified where no data was available. Areas of particular concern identified in the Interim Guidance Notes were two-phase jet fires, the effect of confinement on jet fires and their behaviour with water deluge. Since that time a considerable body of experimental research has been undertaken. Based on this recent data, this paper reassesses jet fire hazards in an offshore environment and provides updated guidance on the hazards they pose, including tabulated data and simple calculation techniques for predicting jet fire hazards.     

Identifying critical success factors in emergency management using a fuzzy DEMATEL method

Since unexpected natural disasters have been causing enormous losses all over the world, emergency management is receiving more and more attention recently. However, most existing studies generally focus on optimization models of specific activities instead of studying the system as a whole. Moreover, the performance of emergency management may be affected by various different factors and it is always difficult for the practitioners to improve all aspects at the same time. In view of the constraint of resources, this paper brings forward an imperative issue on how to enhance emergency management by segmenting complex influencing factors into groups to improve them in a stepwise way. To address this concern involving the vagueness of human judgments, an effective method that combines fuzzy logic and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) is used. Considering the interdependence among factors, this fuzzy DEMATEL method forms a structural model and then visualizes the causal relationships among factors through a cause-effect relationship diagram. Then according to the results of proposed method, critical success factor (CSF) of emergency management is figured out. Finally, 5 CSFs are identified out of 20 influencing factors, and all factors can be achieved in a stepwise way for better promoting the effectiveness and efficiency of emergency management.     

Embedding the human factor in road tunnel risk analysis

The paper is focusing on road tunnel safety and builds upon the Directive 2004/54/EC launched by the European Commission; the latter sets basic requirements and suggests the implementation of risk assessment in several tunnel cases apart from technical measures imposed on the basis of tunnel structural and operational characteristics. Since the EU Directive does not indicate the method for performing risk assessment, a wide range of methods have been proposed, most of them based on quantitative risk assessment (QRA). Although the majority of current road tunnel QRAs assess physical aspects of the tunnel system and consider several hazards concerning the transportation of dangerous goods through a tunnel, they do not take into account, sufficiently, several organizational and human-related factors that can greatly affect the overall safety level of these critical infrastructures. To cope with this limitation this paper proposes a fuzzy logic system based on CREAM method for human reliability analysis (Hollnagel, 1998) in order to provide more sophisticated estimations of the tunnel operator's performance in safety critical situations. It is deduced that a human reliability analysis component to analyze operator performance, like the fuzzy system proposed here, is important for risk analysts. Consideration of organizational and human factors will enhance risk analysts’ studies and highlight the uncertainty related to human performance variability.     

HACCP方法在军用危险品储运管理中的应用

针对军用危险品储运安全所面临的严峻形势,将危害分析和临界控制点(HACCP)方法的预防性管理思想应用在军用危险品的储运管理中。在对某军用危险品仓库储运作业流程分析的基础上,得出各个环节的潜在危害,依据危害对储运安全的影响程度,确定作业中的关键控制点及控制限值。最后针对各个作业环节的潜在危害和关键点,提出预防危害的措施。基于HACCP方法的军用危险品储运管理体系,实现对储运作业各个环节关键点的有效控制,为部队在该领域的安全管理提供了新的思路,具有普遍的应用价值。     

基于信息融合的建筑施工安全预警管理研究

针对建筑业安全事故率居高不下的现状,找出事故频发的主要原因。基于主要原因中人、机、环境和管理4方面数据和信息的复杂性、不确定性,提出采用信息融合技术的D-S证据理论法对建筑施工全过程中的人、机、环境、管理4方面的数据和信息进行分析和预测,并构建建筑施工安全预警管理预测模型。该预测模型能判断建筑施工项目的"安全状态",能解决建筑施工中安全事故及危险源的预测问题;同时针对具体情况采取防范措施,及时矫正安全隐患和确保安全施工。将D-S证据理论法应用于建筑施工安全预警管理中,扩展了建筑施工安全管理的手段。     

加油站定量和定性系统安全评价

论述加油站系统单元划分方法,研究加油站工艺过程,认为事故发生的原因一方面是由于系统各单元危险源的存在和控制措施的不完善,另一方面是由于工艺过程系统节点参数(流量、压力、温度等)发生有效偏差和偏差的传递造成的。针对上述两方面原因,首先从系统安全的角度,将加油站系统划分为5部分,并应用安全检查表方法对各子系统进行了定性安全评价;然后将工艺过程划分为6个节点,应用模糊危险与可操作性研究Fuzzy-HAZOP方法,对各个节点发生有效偏差的原因进行了定量的系统安全分析,并得到半定量化结果;最终从定性和定量两个方面完成了加油站系统安全评价。