Checklist approach

The what-if analysis approach is useful throughout the entire lifetime of a process and is frequendy used in conjunction with the checklist approach. However, the approach is very unstmctured and depends heavily on the experience of the analysts to ask the correct questions. 

Remember that the CCPS definitions may not fit all companies or situations however, they provide a useful set of guidelines for considering how a management system like PSM can work within your company. Some companies have adopted these guidelines very literally and use a highly documented, checklist approach. Others follow them conceptually, in a less structured manner. 

Generally offshore facilities and major process plants onshore represent considerable capital investment and have a high number of severe hazards associated with them (blowouts, ship collisions, line and vessel ruptures, etc.). They normally cannot be easily evaluated with a simple safety checklist approach. Some level of "quantifiable evaluation" reviews are usually prepared to demonstrate that the risk of these facilities is within public, national, industry and corporate expectations. 

EPA ARIP Responses to questionnaires sent by EPA from facilities that have had significant releases purpose is to learn about causes and consequences of hazardous material incidents 1986-Present Supplements NRC reports for more significant events Additional information on causal factors, consequences, and company safety programs Data are easily analyzed for common causes Includes all states and localities Survey relies on voluntary compliance Not comprehensive limited to select cases Checklist approach limits value of information to understand root cause Not designed to be a lessons-leamed database... 

U.S. Fire Administration NFIRS Response data submitted by local fire departments 1980-Present Includes fire and explosion incidents with no/little release, incidents resulting in property damage only, and near-misses if fire department was called Limited state participation Represents limited information available to fire department at time of response Checklist approach limits respondent choices Not designed to be a lessons-learned database... 

A checklist approach is used to gather process safety information (PSI) prior to scaleup to pilot plant. 

With the emphasis I ve given to planning throughout this chapter, the qualification protocol should be written in the same way. Table 5 lists certain information that would be included, and it shows the same kind of checklist approach that was listed for the validation protocol. 

If the number of alternatives identified is too large to perform a detailed evaluation for each, a pre-selection step should reduce the number of alternatives to 5-10 sites. A practical approach commonly used is a checklist approach to eliminate sites that do not meet a certain level defined for important location factors (cf. Wardrep 1985, p. 10). 

Of course, also the set of relevant alternatives has to be defined. If too many alternatives exist, a checklist approach might be used to arrive at a shortlist or a dominance analysis can be performed based on the performance matrix of the alternatives. In case of a lack of alternatives various techniques can be explored to generate additional alternatives (cf. Keeney 1992, pp. 198-240). The alternatives to be analyzed in detail should be described carefully because the way they are described can have unintended effects on decision makers preference statements. The examples provided by Tversky and Kahneman (1986) illustrate this point. 

If the analyst cannot immediately identify the cause, the supervisor should debrief the analyst and all other participants involved in the analysis. A checklist approach to these items would be helpful so that consistency and comprehensiveness is ensured from one investigation to the next. Since there maybe aspects of the analysis that are unique to the particular procedure, the checklist should serve only as a guide, and additional possibilities should be discussed and investigated if deemed appropriate. The examination should include but not necessarily be limited to the following ... 

These particular facilities may in fact be more suited to a checklist approach due to their usually identical features alternatively a one-time generic What-If approach may be employed that is representative of all the subject facilities (i.e. wellheads with similar GOR, H2S content, pressures etc.). 

It must also be demonstrated that the design of the analytical procedure, for example, the intended calibration mode, the number of repetitions, etc. is suitable. Therefore, suitability is strongly connected with the given, individual analytical procedure. The performance parameters are of varying importance and have different acceptance criteria. In consequence, a checklist approach to validation must be avoided. The analyst has to identify critical parameters, which are of importance for the required performance of the individual analytical procedure, to design the experimental studies accordingly and to define acceptance criteria for the results. 

Checklist approach limits value of information to understand root cause... 

One response to the problem of boredom is to switch from one of the more rigorous methods, such as HAZOP, to a checklist approach. This is probably where the judgment of an experienced hazards analysis facilitator can be very valuable. He or she can decide when the team has enough experience to use one of the quicker methods without losing thoroughness or creativity. 

The checklist approach is generally part of other hazards analysis techniques. The HAZOP method itself is a form of checklist, and FMEAs use a set of checklist questions. 

Although the HCF has been extensively modified to accommodate a change in mission, it is in fact an existing faciiity, which imposes some practicai constraints with respect to human-machine interface optimization, it is therefore appropriate to use the checklist approach for performing a human factors evaluation of the HCF. Such an evaluation has been performed. Evaluation results for the first four checklist areas are addressed in this section, while adequacy assessments of the human-machine interfaces and control function allocation will be addressed In Sections 13.4 and 13.5, respectively. 

A safety review method by which What-If investigative questions (i.e., brainstorming or checklist approach) are asked by an experienced and knowledgeable team of the system or component under review where there are concerns about possible undesired events. Recommendations for the mitigation of identified hazards are provided. See also Brainstorming Hazard and Operability Stndy (HAZOP) Safety Flowchart. 

A simple checklist approach to start the process of waste assessment leading to minimisation, will clearly demonstrate where good housekeeping practices can contribute. 

Hess, K. Construction safety auditing made easy A checklist approach to OSHA compliance. Rockville, MD Government Institutes, Inc., 1998. 

Whether an electronic or a hardcopy PSSR checklist approach is used at a site, each applicable item for a complex PSSR in progress can be entered into the action item tracking system and the following attributes can be addressed ... 

IStructE. 2010. Appraisal of Existing Structures, 3rd ed. London IStructE. Almost a checklist approach to appraisal and as such generally applicable for all involved in appraisal (3rd ed. in preparation). 

In practice, the common QRA approaches are unable to cope with individual risks in a level of detail as needful, e.g., for business and insurance purposes. Taking up authors preliminary studies (Leksin et al. 2013, Mock et al. 2012), a semi-quantitative approach is used and integrated within a common checklist approach and FMEA-like... 

---