Chemical plant innovative safety investments decision-support methodology

Introduction

This article examines the extent to which investing in safety during the creation of a new chemical installation proves profitable.

Method

The authors propose a management supporting cost-benefit model that identifies and evaluates investments in safety within a chemical company. This innovative model differentiates between serious accidents and less serious accidents, thus providing an authentic image of prevention-related costs and benefits. In classic cost-benefit analyses, which do not make such differentiations, only a rudimentary image of potential profitability resulting from investments in safety is obtained.

Results

The resulting management conclusions that can be drawn from such classical analyses are of a very limited nature. The proposed model, however, is applied to a real case study and the proposed investments in safety at an appointed chemical installation are weighed against the estimated hypothetical benefits resulting from the preventive measures to be installed at the installation.

Conclusion

In the case-study carried out in question, it would appear that the proposed prevention investments are justified.

Impact on industry

Such an economic exercise may be very important to chemical corporations trying to (further) improve their safety investments.     

Application of a multi-plant QRA: A case study investigating the risk impact of the construction of a new plant on an existing chemical plant's risk levels

The construction of chemical clusters whereby a variety of chemical plants are located next to each other provides great economic benefits. However, in such clusters, due to the mere scale on which hazardous materials are processed, stored and handled, the potential of various accidents is much higher than in single companies. Furthermore, the close proximity of process installations and storage tanks in such areas gives rise to the risk of domino effects. Therefore, land use planning and layout design has always been a challenge within such clusters.In this paper, a Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) is carried out and used as a decision making tool to evaluate the acceptability of constructing a new chemical plant adjacent to an existing one. For this purpose, standard parameters such as individual risk and societal risk were quantified, before and after the new plant would come into operation. Given the experience of past accidents in the process industries, the likelihood of domino accidents in the two neighboring plants has also been analyzed.     

Empirically based development of a framework for advancing and stimulating collaboration in the chemical industry (ASC): creating sustainable chemical industrial parks

Based on literature, we identify collaboration drivers and partner features for enhancing vertical and/or horizontal collaboration in the chemicals using industries. We further develop constructs for both types of collaboration. A survey-based analysis within the largest chemical cluster worldwide was carried out to verify and to test our literature-based constructs. Using our empirically based results, we develop and propose a framework for Advancing and Stimulating Collaboration (ASC) in the chemical industry. This framework can be used to increase collaborative arrangements within the chemical industry and thereby lead to more sustainable chemical product and process flows and management practices resulting in more sustainable chemical industrial parks.     

Designing continuous safety improvement within chemical industrial areas

This article provides support in organizing and implementing novel concepts for enhancing safety on a cluster level of chemical plants. The paper elaborates the requirements for integrating Safety Management Systems of chemical plants situated within a so-called chemical cluster. Recommendations of existing Plant Safety Management System Codes of Good Practice are analyzed in relation to the needs of cluster chemical safety. The paper establishes comprehensive guidelines for gradually standardizing Plant Safety Management Systems through the design, the development and the installation of a Cluster Safety Management System within a group of chemical companies. A cluster organization framework is proposed and a scheme for continuously improving cluster and plant safety management via communication and cooperation at plant department level as well as at cluster level is suggested.     

Prevention in the chemical and process industries: Future directions

This paper presents the current trends of future-oriented prevention management in the chemical-using industry. Two concepts leading to the next generation of managing prevention within chemical industrial areas are explained and discussed. The first concept concerns integrated design-based safety and security; the second concerns the collaboration of several chemical plants to increase sustainable development of their activities and their environment.     

A Management of change approach for assessing and Evaluating operational Staffing Levels (MocESL) in chemical plants

Chemical enterprises are often challenged with efficiently assessing their operational staffing levels. Unbalanced and inadequate manning levels might be financially adversarial and may even lead to (minor and major) accidents. This paper provides a framework and a roadmap to assist chemical plants in assessing and evaluating their operational staffing levels. The approach can be implemented within the entire organization or within a part thereof (i.e., a business unit or an installation). As a part of the suggested approach, an instrument is provided for evaluating operational staffing levels as they currently exist within a chemical company, business unit, or installation.     

Continuously and simultaneously optimizing an organization’s safety and security culture and climate: the Improvement Diamond for Excellence Achievement and Leadership in Safety & Security (IDEAL S&S) model

This article discusses an innovative approach to measure and to enhance a company’s safety culture and climate as well as its security culture and climate in one go. A safety and security culture and climate model using three dimensions (People, Procedures and Technology) is suggested to form the building blocks of the model. The Improvement Diamond for Excellence Achievement and Leadership in Safety and Security (abbreviated IDEAL S&S) model’s structure is shaped by integrating the principles of Performance Management into the well-known and much used concept of the PDCA cycle or loop of continuous improvement. This way, the model can easily be used and implemented by any organization. Furthermore, a Roadmap is provided for introducing and applying the model and the approach to test the model in a real industrial setting is explained and discussed.     

A novel methodology for evaluating the change of existing operational staffing levels (MCSL) in the chemical industry

Operational manning levels in the chemical industry not reflecting real circumstances and/or not taking into account various possible accident scenarios can be financially adversarial and can even lead to (minor and major) accidents. This paper provides a methodology to assist chemical companies in analyzing changes of their existing operational staffing levels. The method can be implemented within the entire organization or within a part thereof (i.e., a business unit or an installation). The method has been applied in a major chemical company in Belgium. The Belgian case illustrates the user-friendliness of the suggested manning level risk analysis method.     

Modeling the major accident prevention legislation change process within Europe

The factors giving impulse to changing major accident prevention legislation within Europe, the so-called Seveso Directive, have not been thoroughly studied and molded into an understandable model thus far. For example the exact relationship between major industrial accidents and an ever changing legislation is still unexplored. This paper thoroughly investigates the parameters having influenced the change of the 1996 Seveso II Directive into the 2003 Seveso Directive Amendment 2003/105/EC and develops the accompanying legislation change process. The official major accident reports of Baia Mare, Enschede and Toulouse are studied in-depth, as well as many other official EU documents. Furthermore, experts from academia, government and industry who witnessed and/or participated into the legislation change process were interviewed in-depth. More profound insights into the societal debate following a major accident may help private companies to adapt their safety management system and their prevention policies, and may aid the legislator to develop more efficient and effective regulations. This way, the societal demand to change legislation in an ad hoc manner may be unpressurized.