Revealing hidden debottlenecking potential in flare systems on offshore facilities using dynamic simulations – A preliminary investigation

Three flare systems are modeled and total plant depressurization is investigated using dynamic simulations in order to access the debottlenecking potential. Usually, steady-state simulation of the flare network is used for sizing and rating of the flare system. By using dynamic simulations, effects from line packing in the flare system can be studied. The results show that peak flow during a dynamic simulations is significantly lower than the peak flow used in a steady-state case. The three systems investigated span a wide range in flare system size, both in terms of number of process segments disposing into the flare network, in terms of peak design rate, the flare network pipe dimensions and total hold-up volume. Generally, it is observed that the larger the flare system, the larger debottlenecking potential.     

On–off control of aeration time in the simultaneous removal of ammonia and manganese using a biological aerated filter system

The biological aerated filter (BAF) system, a new alternative in drinking water treatment, was designed to remove NH₄⁺–N and Mn²⁺ simultaneously. This study aimed to control the aeration time in the BAF system for simultaneous NH₄⁺–N and Mn²⁺ removal to achieve the Malaysian effluent quality regulation for drinking water. The experiment was conducted under four strategies of S1, S2, S3 and S4. The results demonstrated that acceptable levels of NH₄⁺–N and Mn²⁺ were achieved over a 6 h aeration period (S1), producing effluent concentrations of 0.7 mg/L (93.2% removal) and 0.08 mg/L (79.6% removal), respectively. At the initial treatment of S1 and S2, the dissolved oxygen (DO) level rapidly increased until it reached a saturated concentration (6.8 mg/L DO) after 2 h period. Automatic on–off aeration time to maintain 3 mg/L DO set point (S4) resulted with a good effluent quality of NH₄⁺–N and Mn²⁺ compared with the 2 mg/L DO set point (S3) which did not meet the regulated standard limits. Through the automatic on–off aeration time, the saturated and excessive DO levels in the BAF system can be avoided consequently reduce the wastage of energy and electrical consumption for simultaneous NH₄⁺–N and Mn²⁺ removal from drinking water treatment.     

Design and evaluation of safety measures using a newly proposed methodology “SCAP”

An increase in the number of accidents in the process industries and the concomitant damage potential is a cause of concern in many countries. In order to control the alarming risk posed by these industries, the United States government has asked each manufacturing facility to carry out a worst-case disaster study and to develop alternatives to control this high risk. Other developed and developing countries such as Canada and India have taken similar measures.Recently Khan and Abbasi (J. Loss Prevent. Process Ind. (2001a) in press) have proposed a maximum credible accident analysis with a maximum credible accident scenario approach, which scores over a worst-case scenario approach for being realistic and reliable. In another effort, Khan and Abbasi (J. Hazard. Mater. (2001b) in press) have developed an efficient and effective algorithm for probabilistic fault tree analysis. These two approaches have been combined to yield a new methodology for a more realistic, reliable, and efficient safety evaluation and the design of risk control measures. The methodology is named SCAP: Safety, Credible Accident, Probabilistic fault tree analysis. The methodology is comprised of four steps of which the last step is a feedback loop. This paper recapitulates this methodology and demonstrates its application to ethylene oxide (EO) plants. The application of SCAP to EO plants identifies five units as risky and needing more safety measures. Further, this study recommends safety measures and demonstrates through SCAP that their implementation lower the risk to an acceptable level.     

Friction measurements on “anti-slip” floors under shoe sole,contamination, and inclination conditions

Friction measurements were conducted to study the effects of shoe sole, floor, contamination, and inclined angle of the floor surface on friction coefficient. The shoe sole samples included composite rubber outsole samples with and without V-shaped tread design. Unglazed ceramic tiles of both flat and tiles with molded profile design were tested. The contamination conditions included dry, wet, and glycerol-contaminated conditions. The inclined angles included 0°, 5°, and 10°. A Brungraber Mark II slipmeter was used. The results showed that all the four factors affected friction coefficient significantly (p < 0.0001). Flat rubber soles had higher friction coefficients than the soling samples with V-shaped tread design on all tested floors and inclined angles under wet conditions. Flat soles, however, had extremely low friction when tested on flat floors under glycerol-contaminated conditions. The floors with molded grooves perpendicular to friction measurement direction had the highest friction coefficients than all other floor conditions under both the wet and glycerol-contaminated conditions except the wet/flat sole/10° condition. A regression model with a cosine function was established to describe the relationship between friction coefficient and inclined angle of the floor under the experimental conditions. This model is statistically significant at p < 0.0001 with an R² of 0.97.     

Experimental evidence of the “Faster is Slower” effect in the evacuation of ants

The faster is slower effect is a self-organized phenomena first described for pedestrian dynamics. Although it has been obtained in computer simulations, it has not been observed in real systems yet. To achieve this goal, we carried out experiments with ants, which are self-propelled biological agents. The ants were placed inside a bidimensional chamber with a narrow exit, and a paper imbibed with repellent was placed in the opposite wall of the chamber. Using different concentrations of citronella, which produced different degrees of repellency, the ants were forced to egress from the chamber and the evacuation time was measured. A minimum evacuation time is observed for intermediate concentrations of citronella, compatible with the faster is slower effect. However, this effect was not generated by the occurrence of blocking clusters right before the exit as the ants did not display a selfish evacuation behavior.     

Parental knowledge of concussion: Evaluation of the CDC's “Heads up to parents” educational initiative

Background: Potential negative outcomes associated with sport-related concussion drive the need for resources to educate parents about prevention, recognition, and management of concussion in the youth athlete. Parents play a critical role in the recognition and management of concussion for their child. Purpose: This study aims to (a) investigate current knowledge of concussion among parents whose children age 5–18 years play a club sport and (b) identify effects of an online video versus online print educational intervention on concussion knowledge change and learning. Methods: 140 parents whose children played a club sport answered questions regarding their knowledge of sport-related concussion pre- and post-random assignment to an educational intervention: CDC Concussion Awareness video or CDC Concussion Fact Sheet for Parents. Results: Participating parents demonstrated a moderate level of pre-intervention knowledge, but critical gaps in knowledge were identified. Knowledge of concussion improved slightly following intervention regardless of intervention type. Conclusions: This study confirms the presence of gaps in knowledge of concussion in parents whose children play club sports. Without the protection of concussion legislation, those athletes who participate in club sports are at particular risk due to lack of concussion knowledge and education. This study confirms that education can have a positive impact on parental knowledge of concussion. Practical applications: Pre-knowledge of concussion is the greatest predictor of post-knowledge of concussion, therefore pre-assessment of target audience knowledge followed by a custom educational intervention taking into account principles of adult learning, would be the most beneficial to increasing concussion knowledge.     

Relative Risk of Fatal Injury in “High-Performance-Small-Motorcycle” Crashes in Malaysia

This study presents an analysis of injuries (severe and fatal) sustained by “high-performance-small-motorcycle” users in Malaysia and establishes the relationship between fatality risk and human factors, exposure and vehicle factors resulting from motorcycle crashes. From the data gathered a statistical model based on logistic regression modeling technique has been developed. Five variables found to have a significant influence on fatality risk (p < 0.05) were age, location sites, engine capacity, object/vehicle struck and collision types.     

The Effectiveness of a “Break Experiment” from a Long-Term Perspective

The study reports the results of a follow-up evaluation, conducted in 1994, of the impact of a training program for female unskilled metal workers that was implemented at the end of the 1970s. The program was designed to promote occupational skills development, and was first evaluated in 1979. On both occasions of evaluation the investment in training was examined from two perspectives, those of the training participants and management. Data were collected through semistructured personal interviews with key members of personnel management and through a group conversation session with a majority of the original course attendees. Supplementary background information was obtained from documents and records maintained by the organization. At some points, there was a convergence of views on the significance of the training program for occupational skills development, at others a divergence. These convergences and divergences are finally discussed and the findings of the study are related to other research on this particular kind of intervention.     

Suitability of ignition source “exploding wire” for determination of dust explosion characteristics in the 20-L-sphere

Several safety characteristics of dusts are determined in the 20-L-sphere (also known as SIWEK Chamber) according to international standards. Dust cloud ignition is carried out using pyrotechnical igniters. Due to various disadvantages of such igniters the need for alternative ignition sources arises again and again. An alternative could be an ignition source which is known as “exploding wire” or “fuse wire”. The paper presents test results of a comparative study between both ignition sources for the determination of the safety characteristics “Maximum Explosion Pressure” and “Maximum Rate of Explosion Pressure Rise” of five selected dusts in the 20-L-sphere. In addition to that the ignition mechanisms of both ignition sources were analyzed by high speed camera recordings and the ignition energy was determined with electric and calorimetric recordings. The paper shows results of measurements of the ignition energy of both ignition sources as well as sequences of the flame propagation.     

Testing the validity of the “value of a prevented fatality” (VPF) used to assess UK safety measures

The “value of a prevented fatality” (VPF), the maximum amount that it is notionally reasonable to pay for a safety measure that will reduce by one the expected number of preventable premature deaths in a large population, is published by the UK Department for Transport (DfT). The figure, updated for changes in GDP per head, is used by the DfT, the Health and Safety Executive and other UK regulatory bodies as well as very widely in the process, nuclear and other industries as the standard by which to judge how much to spend to reduce harm to humans. The paper tests the validity of the 1999 study on which the VPF is based and finds that that study fails numerous tests of its validity. It is concluded that there is no evidential base for the VPF that has been used for many years in the UK and is still in standard use today. Given the difficulties evident in the interpretation of survey results, an urgent re-appraisal is needed of alternative statistical methodologies that can allow robust regulatory and industry safety decision making and, vitally, give adequate protection to the UK public and to those working in the UK's transport, process, nuclear and other industries.     

HazMat transportation safety assessment: Analysis of a “Viareggio-like” incident in the Netherlands

Relevant safety issues are associated with hazardous materials transportation, especially when transport routes cross populated areas. On March 6th, 2015, a passenger train collided with the last rail car of a freight train in Tilburg, the Netherlands. The last car contained 50 t of liquefied 1,3-butadiene. As a result of the collision, the last car showed deformation; a small leakage occurred but fortunately with no relevant consequences. However, extremely severe consequences could have happened, such as in the rail accident that occurred in Viareggio, Italy in 2009. In this work, the case of Tilburg was firstly outlined and explored by qualitative methods, in order to identify possible realistic final scenarios that could have happened. Second, the potential consequences of the identified scenarios were estimated through conventional integral model for physical effects evaluation. Comparison with the Viareggio case was also shown in order to support the discussion of the results obtained. Finally, lessons learned after the incident, policy making considerations, and indications for the risk mitigation of hazardous materials transportation are given.     

“Killing them with kindness”? A study of service employees' responses to uncivil customers

Experiencing uncivil customers is a frequent reality for many people working in the service industry. Past research has established that dealing with uncivil customers can be distressing for employees and can sometimes lead them to engage in reciprocal, discourteous behavior. The purpose of our research is to delve deeper into the experience of customer incivility from the perspective of service employees in order to better understand the various ways in which they respond to customer incivility. We conducted 64 interviews with service employees across an array of occupations and developed a typology of responses to customer incivility. These responses fell into four categories based on the extent to which service employees' actions were intended to promote social harmony (and therefore could broadly be considered civil or uncivil), as well as their perceived agency in the situation. We describe how each response was associated with different interpersonal and intrapersonal consequences and explain the implications of our typology for management theory and practice.     

“Total risk of death”—Towards a common and usable basis for consequence assessment

Assessment of the risk of exposure to a “dangerous dose” (DD) is the basis of the UK Health and Safety Executive's HSE's current risk assessments for land-use planning (LUP). Some years ago, a hybrid approach using both DD and “significant likelihood of death” (SLOD) was proposed as an improvement, but was not adopted.Here, an alternative, weighted multiple threshold approach, provisionally titled “total risk of death” (TROD), is described. TROD improves the comparability of assessed risks from diverse hazards. This is achieved by first performing assessments for more than one threshold of consequence (such as DD assessment and SLOD assessment). The predicted risk for each threshold is then combined into a single risk value (at a specified location) by weighting the contributions to risk according to the predicted consequences for each threshold.This paper makes the case, in principle, for using TROD and illustrates how TROD values are constructed.TROD overcomes some of the objections that have barred progress to more widespread use of risk assessment, it is more comparable between different installations and hazards than DD, it is more sensitive than SLOD and more adaptable than probits (which can introduce a false sense of precision). It could support more direct comparison with other risks (e.g. everyday risks and transport risks) in the future.The appropriate “weightings” for addition of risks predicted for different consequence thresholds (contributing to TROD) are discussed here. A three-threshold scheme for evaluation of TROD is described. The thresholds are DD (assumed to approximate to a dose leading to ～1% fatal consequences or LD₁), LD₁₀, and SLOD (～LD₅₀).TROD has been used in HSE sponsored research and in HSE's exploration of societal risks.     

“The gift of failure: New approaches to analyzing and learning from events and near-misses.” Honoring the contributions of Bernhard Wilpert

This special issue presents papers from a workshop conducted by New Technologies and Work (NeTWork) to honor the memory of Bernhard Wilpert, the founder and organiser of NeTWork. The papers reflect the theme that undesirable incidents and events, serious and disturbing as they may be, are a “gift of failure.” In short, events offer an opportunity to learn about safe and unsafe operations, generate productive conversations across engaged stakeholders, and bring about beneficial changes to technology, organization, and mental models (understanding). Papers in the special issue are organised around three topics: the process of event analysis, the relationship between event analysis and organisational learning, and learning at multiple system levels. In this introduction we describe the workshop, summarize the contributions of Bernhard Wilpert, suggest three themes that emerged from the workshop, and offer our thoughts about the future of event analysis and learning from events.     

“Are you still driving?” Metasynthesis of patient preferences for communication with health care providers

Aim: The aim of this study was to synthesize published qualitative studies to identify older adults' preferences for communication about driving with health care providers.

Background: Health care providers play a key role in addressing driving safety and driving retirement with older adults, but conversations about driving can be difficult. Guides exist for family members and providers, but to date less is known about the types of communication and messages older drivers want from their health care providers.

Design: A qualitative metasynthesis of studies published on or before October 10, 2014, in databases (PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Web of Science) and grey literature was performed.

Review Methods: Twenty-two published studies representing 518 older adult drivers met the following inclusion criteria: the study (1) was about driving; (2) involved older drivers; (3) was qualitative (rather than quantitative or mixed methods); and (4) contained information on older drivers' perspectives about communication with health care providers.

Results: We identified 5 major themes regarding older adults' communication preferences: (1) driving discussions are emotionally charged; (2) context matters; (3) providers are trusted and viewed as authority figures; (4) communication should occur over a period of time rather than suddenly; and (5) older adults desire agency in the decision to stop driving.

Conclusion: Various stakeholders involved in older driver safety should consider older drivers' perspectives regarding discussions about driving. Health care providers can respect and empower older drivers—and support their family members—through tactful communication about driving safety and mobility transitions during the life course.     

Analysis of “high-dollar” value safety and health citations and orders for the US coal mines

This paper presents an analysis of a “high-dollar” value safety and health citations and orders for the US coal mines using the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) data. Term “high-dollar” value relates to penalty of $10,000 and more per citation or order. The study was based on historical MSHA data for the period from 01/01/2009 to 12/31/2009. Data shows that there were 1161 “high-dollar” value citations and orders in 2009 with a total penalty of almost $31-million. The most cited standard was 75.400 – “Accumulation of combustible material” with a 259 “high-dollar” value citations and total penalty of almost $5.9-million. Among all US states, the West Virginia coal mines recorded the highest number of citations and the total penalty value. Results of this study can be used by coal mining industry to help in prioritizing resource allocations and determining control strategies.     

Are “job hoppers” trapped in hedonic treadmills? Effects of career orientations on newcomers' attitude trajectories

Joining a new organization to change jobs is an influential event in an employee's career. Thus, inter-organizational job changes have sparked growing scholarly interest, especially in the temporal dynamics involved in detaching from organizations and adapting to new ones. While it is widely accepted that employees adapt differently to job changes, the influence of employees' career orientations on changes in job attitudes has not yet been considered. This is surprising given that a key difference between self-centered and organization-centered career orientations is a positive attitude toward job changes. Building on hedonic adaptation, we examined how career orientations influence changes in job satisfaction and turnover intention throughout a job change. We compared self-centered and organization-centered employees using random coefficient modeling on two longitudinal data sets with voluntary job changers. Our results illustrate that self-centered career orientations foster a stronger decline in job satisfaction with the new employer, as well as a larger increase in turnover intention, than organization-centered career orientations. In contrast, employees with organization-centered career orientations experienced an upward trend in job satisfaction toward the end of the first year. Our findings offer important implications for research on the determinants of job attitude trajectories when individuals join a new organization.     

The “social-physiology” of safety. An integrative approach to understanding organisational psychological mechanisms behind safety performance

This paper aims at contributing to a comprehensive perspective on occupational safety by integrating research on different specific organisational psychological concepts found to contribute to different types of organisational performance, and apply these to an occupational safety context. A second aim was to present perspectives on how occupational safety may be promoted within an organization. The following mechanisms are suggested. A leadership style promoting co-operation, inspiring, fostering group goals, as well as providing individualized support and empowering workers may intrinsically be expected to comprise rich and open communication and thus support the development of high-quality interactions between managers and employees. Such interaction and communication may promote the development of mutual trust, and the development of a good workgroup climate. Trust, in turn, may further promote communication and interaction. Mutual trust, high-quality relations, and a strong group climate may promote workers’ motivation and intentions to contribute to the organisational goals. Managers successful in demonstrating true and consistent priority of workers’ safety may promote the development of workers’ trust but also convince that safety is a prime organisational goal. This may promote workers’ motivation to behave safely. Trustful relations characterized by empowerment and participation are then likely also to support the realization of safety intentions into safe behavior.