Global process industry initiatives to reduce major accident hazards

In the past 10 years, the vapor cloud explosion at Texas City, the ammonium nitrate explosion in Toulouse, a pipeline disaster in Belgium, and three near total loss events in Norway have highlighted that major accident process safety is still a serious issue. Hopes that PSM or Safety Case regulations would reduce process events by 80% have not proven true. The Baker Panel, convened after Texas City developed a series of recommendations, mainly around leadership, incentives, safety culture and more effective implementation of PSM systems. Many US-based companies are working hard to implement the Baker recommendations. In Europe, an approach built around safety barriers, especially relating to technical safety systems, is being widely adopted.The author’s company has carried out a global survey of process industry initiatives, for both upstream and downstream activities, to identify what the industry itself is planning to enhance process safety in the next 5-10 years. This paper presents a summary of some of the major programs and initiatives as apply to traditional oil majors, newer national oil companies, and the chemical industry. These are a mixture of Baker recommendations, barrier approaches and tighter integration of process safety and asset integrity. While the factor of 10 improvement achieved in occupational safety over the past 20 years seems unattainable for process safety, a factor of 3-4 improvement in the next 20 years does seem possible. This would call for significant effort on the part of operators, but the benefits fully justify the effort.     

Maintenance-related major accidents: Classification of causes and case study

The potential for major accidents is inherent in most industries that handle or store hazardous substances, for e.g. the hydrocarbon and chemical process industries. Several major accidents have been experienced over the past three decades. Flixborough Disaster (1974), Seveso Disaster (1976), Alexander Kielland Disaster (1980), Bhopal Gas Tragedy (1984), Sandoz Chemical Spill (1986), Piper Alpha Disaster (1988), Philips 66 Disaster (1989), Esso Longford Gas Explosion (1998), Texas City Refinery Explosion (2005), and most recently the Macondo Blowout (2010) are a few examples of accidents with devastating consequences.Causes are being exposed over time, but in recent years maintenance influence tends to be given less attention. However, given that some major accidents are maintenance-related, we intend to concentrate on classifying them to give a better insight into the underlying and contributing causes.High degree of technological and organizational complexity are attributes of these industries, and in order to control the risk, it is common to deploy multiple and independent safety barriers whose integrity cannot be maintained without adequate level of maintenance. However, maintenance may have a negative effect on barrier performance if the execution is incorrect, insufficient, delayed, or excessive. Maintenance can also be the triggering event.The objectives of this article are: (1) To investigate how maintenance impacts the occurrence of major accidents, and (2) To develop classification schemes for causes of maintenance-related major accidents.The paper builds primarily on model-based and empirical approaches, the latter being applied to reports on accident investigation and analysis. Based on this, the Work and Accident Process (WAP) classification scheme was proposed in the paper.     

生产安全事故风险分级与分级监察研究

针对我国安全生产形势严峻现状，为进一步提高安全生产监察效率和质量，强化行政执法力度，提出了在我国建立生产安全事故风险分级与分级监察系统，其方法是首先确定行业相对风险度，再计算企业职业伤害风险系数，据此对企业风险进行分级，根据监察力量和监察计划对不同风险级别的企业进行分级监察，为实行集约型安全生产监察工作提供参考。     

Overcoming the blame game to learn from major accidents: A systemic analysis of an Anhydrous Ammonia leakage accident

This article aims to demonstrate the need for changing the methods with which accidents are analyzed, if we truly wish to use what we uncover from them to learn and enrich our knowledge base of organizational management. The goal is to relinquish the broadly adopted and rather simplistic paradigm that accepts the search for human error and unsafe acts performed by workers, and produces “guilt diagnostics”. Instead, we use a systemic accident analysis methodology, based on the sociotechnical principle of understanding the real operating conditions in which accidents take place. In order to demonstrate the benefits of the theoretical framework, we compare the analyses of an Anhydrous Ammonia gas leakage accident in a fish processing plant using the traditional accident analysis model based on unsafe acts and the proposed systemic approach. The results favor the latter since it tends to be more reliable and offering useful recommendations to safety management processes, thus helping to prevent accidents, especially in complex systems.     

A criterion for developing credible accident scenarios for risk assessment

Maximum credible accident analysis is one of the most widely used concepts in risk assessment of chemical process industries. Central to this concept is the aspect of ‘credibility’ of envisaged accident scenarios. However, thus far the term credibility is mostly treated qualitatively, based on the subjective judgement of the concerned analysts. This causes wide variation in the results of the studies conducted on the same industrial unit by different analysts.

This paper presents an attempt to develop a criterion using which credible accident scenarios may be identified from among a large number of possibilities. The credible scenarios thus identified may then be processed for detailed consequence analysis. This would help in reducing the cost of the analysis and prevent undue emphasis on less credible scenarios at the expense of more credible ones.     

基于模糊评价法的建筑安全事故预测模型

针对建筑工程安全领域中许多对象具有"内涵明确,外延不明确"的特点,本文利用模糊数学对建筑安全事故影响因素进行度量,通过层次分析法确定各影响因素权重,提出了一种基于模糊评价法的建筑安全事故预测模型,解决了建筑生产中安全事故的即时预测,并通过实例给予说明,说明了模型在建筑安全事故预测中的有效性和实用性.     

重大危险源辨识与监控是企业建立事故应急体系的基础

本文简要介绍了重大工业事故预防控制体系要素和国家法律、法规与政策对企业重大危险源监控与应急体系建设的要求,论述了重大危险源辨识、监控是企业建立事故应急体系和重大事故预防控制体系的基础和前提,对企业重大危险源监控和应急预案编制要求提出了建议.     

基于监管的化工园区事故免疫系统构建

为探索完善化工园区安全生产监管体系,借鉴生物免疫系统抵御疾病的机理,构建了在组织、功能、机制等方面与生物免疫系统相似的化工园区事故免疫系统;从化工园区安全生产监管的角度出发,阐述了化工园区事故免疫系统组织、功能和机制的具体构建方法。结果表明,生物免疫系统和化工园区安全生产监管体系具有共性、完善的组织是化工园区事故免疫系统预防事故的首要条件、化工园区事故免疫系统可为完善化工园区安全生产监管提供策略和方法。     

基于风险防御的机场跑道事故风险控制研究

在风险管理程序中,风险辨识和风险评估是风险管理的基础,而风险控制才是风险管理的最终目标。只有通过风险控制才能实现降低风险水平的目的,才能体现风险管理的全部意义。跑道运行涉及的人员、设备众多,是航空地面事故的多发环节,因而对跑道事故风险进行控制是具有一定意义的。在对现有风险控制方法分析的基础上,提出了基于风险防御的跑道事故风险控制,构建了跑道事故风险防御体系,指出了风险控制的思想重在事故发生前的预防。从技术研究(从具体的事故影响因素角度出发)和组织支持措施(从机场安全管理全局的角度出发)两方面进行跑道事故风险的控制。最后,对风险防御技术进行了研究。从风险控制的角度,为预防跑道事故的发生提供理论依据和指导。     

低概率重大事故风险与定量风险评价

论述应用定量风险评价(QRA)对评价、控制低概率重大事故风险的重要意义.介绍了低概率重大风险范畴与主要来源,QRA技术的主要用途与基本方法,研发与使用QRA计算重大风险的主要技术程序.提出了在应用QRA评价重大风险时应注意的几个主要技术问题.     

重大事故应急预案评审技术研究

重大事故应急预案评审是重大事故应急预案管理中的一个重要环节,为了进一步提高应急预案的针对性、实用性和可操作性,完善重大事故应急预案体系,应进行重大事故应急预案的评审。本文主要介绍重大事故应急预案评审的目的及原则,重大事故应急预案评审应遵循的基本准则,以及重大事故应急预案评审的基本方法和内容要求。     

石化企业平面布局安全设计中事故场景的选择研究

基于安全性能思想的设计方法是石化行业平面布局安全设计的一个重要发展方向,文章对这种设计方法中目前存在的主要不确定因素——事故场景的选择问题进行了研究。对《石油化工企业设计防火规范》等指令性规范中各级别平面布局安全设计的依据进行了统计分析,给出了各级别布局设计中主要的安全考虑和大致的安全间距范围,并对目前安全考虑中存在的模糊性进行了分析,给出了导致其存在的原因主要为＂事故场景考虑不同＂和＂‘相互影响’的含义不同＂;由此,结合事故伤害理论,对石化行业常见的9种19类常见事故场景的后果分析估算,得到了各事故场景对目标设施造成不同程度＂影响＂的范围,并以之为依据,分析给出了各级别布局安全设计中适合考虑的事故场景及适当的安全设计目标。     

基于MAIB事故报告的人为失误灰色关联分析

人为失误作为海上交通事故的主要原因,受到多种因素的影响。为了识别这些影响因素,避免或减少因人为失误导致的海上交通事故,基于96件英国海事调查委员会(MAIB)事故报告,应用熵加权灰色关联分析,分别按船旗国、船舶类型、事故类型计算人为失误与影响因素之间的关联度。结果表明,能力/技能/知识、团队协作、程序和现行规程、设备、交流(内部和外部)和管理/检验/检查是影响人为失误的主要因素。     

Economic valuation of damages originated by major accidents in port areas

Due to special features of ports – variety of activities: storage and loading/unloading of hazardous materials; circulation of ships, lorries and trains; proximity to urban zones; etc. – major accidents can be associated with severe damages. The cost of such accidents must be known to allow for compensation to people and companies. A procedure is presented to estimate the cost of damages suffered by people, equipment and environment. Criteria to assess the cost of damage to people – a controversial issue – are discussed, establishing a method to predict the number of people killed, injured and evacuated. Economic compensation is proposed. Environmental damages are also considered. These include potential damage to the atmosphere, soil, water and fauna. Estimates of the cost of the equipment and buildings affected by the accident are proposed. Finally, an assessment of the loss of profits due to activity breakdown and indirect costs is analysed. The methodology presented can easily be extended to general, inland process and storage sites.     

Quantitative risk assessment: How realistic are those frequency assumptions?

Although much has changed in recent decades in how the consequences are treated in risk assessment of major industrial accidents, estimation of frequencies still appears to be largely based on values from several decades ago. This paper reviews briefly some of the implications of this, drawing on lessons not only from the process industries but also from other not so obviously relevant fields such as aerospace and finance, where the significance of such factors such as organizational culture, normalization of deviance, ownership, demographic change, etc. is becoming increasingly recognized in the analysis and hence the control of risk.Failure to consider such factors and their effects can pose a problem, because risk assessment is not simply an abstract concept but can have a real influence on the level of risk. If protective measures such as the safety culture of the site, etc. can be shown to significantly change the risk zone, this can persuade the risk generator to improve those factors or take other steps to reduce the risk such as reducing the inventory in the process. Conversely, assessments conducted for well-run companies may misrepresent the risk if the site ownership changes to a financial holding company with a focus on maximizing short-term profit and resale of the assets, and it can be difficult even for well-motivated management to justify protective measures if they produce no apparent difference in the risk.This paper introduces these and other issues for consideration in the symposium which follows.     

航空事故调查中人的因素安全建议框架研究

对航空事故中人的不安全行为进行了系统分析,将失误划分为感知失误、记忆失误、决策失误、技能失误4个类别,将违章划分为习惯性违章和偶然性违章。将人的因素干预维度确定为组织管理、人/团队、技术、任务和环境。针对不安全行为制定相应的初步改进措施后,还需从措施的可行性、可接受性、经济性和有效性4个方面进行综合评估和取舍。实证研究表明,人的因素干预矩阵是制定安全建议的有效工具,该框架具备良好的适用性。     

基于动态贝叶斯网络的石化装置火灾事故动态风险分析

为揭示石油炼化装置事故风险动态特性和事故情景演变路径,在对石化装置进行风险因素分析的基础上构建石化装置火灾事故故障树,基于贝叶斯网络非常规突发事故的演变过程,构建情景演变下的动态贝叶斯网络模型,在综合考虑应急措施的基础上,利用MATLAB软件和联合概率公式计算出各种事故场景的状态概率.以丙烯精馏装置火灾事故为例,结果表...     

基于“事故树-层次分析法”的高校学生宿舍火灾风险分析

高校学生宿舍的消防安全是高校安全管理的重要内容之一。对学生宿舍的消防进行风险分析对高校的安全管理具有重要意义。本文采用层次分析法对高校宿舍的消防安全进行风险分析。在进行层次分析法之前,引入了事故树,通过事故树寻求指标层中各类重要因素,从而提高了层次分析的准确性和有效性。分析结果表明：采用事故树-层次分析法,可定量地分析各个因素对建筑火灾风险的影响大小,对制定建筑火灾的防范措施具有一定的指导意义。分析结果表明：消防设施、火灾荷载和安全疏散设备对学生宿舍的火灾安全有着重要的影响,应该引起安全管理人员的重视。     

安全与事故运动规律初探

通过分析安全、隐患、事故之间的变化规律,揭示了安全与事故不仅普遍存在于自然界和人类社会活动中,具有与客观规律相依而生的自然属性,而且两者的对立统一,又具有促进客观事故向高层次发展的社会属性。