Hazards analysis leader

Each approach is appropriate at its own time and place—none of them is inherently better than any of the others. Indeed, they are often used in combination with one another. Moreover, the different approaches have much in common it is important not to overemphasize the differences between them. Experienced hazards analysis leaders tend to find that they shift from one method to another rather as persons who are multilingual will switch from one language to another, almost without realizing that they are doing so. 

An experienced outsider will bring a wealth of experience and knowledge from all the other analyses and evaluations in which he or she has participated. This fund of experience provides an invaluable basis for challenging the status quo and coming up with fresh insights. External hazards analysis leaders move from project to project, in the same way that medieval masons moved from cathedral to cathedral, taking their experience and skills with them. 

The ability to manage and lead a team discussion is a critical ability for a hazards analysis leader. In addition to general meeting management issues such as the use of mobile phones for texting, he or she needs to consider the following ... 

For these reasons, check valves are normally regarded as being only a weak safeguard and should not be relied upon in critical service. As one hazards analysis leader has said If you rely on a check valve to be safe, then you re not safe. Another leader uses a figure of 49 in 50 for check valve rehability in clean service, i.e., he anticipates that a check valve will not work on demand 2% of the time. 

The process hazards analysis for the raw material storage, catalyst preparation, catalyst storage areas was up for renewal this year. The prior PHA was not as thorough as expected by today s standards. The corporation has now established criteria for PHA leaders and has an approved list of resources. 

Conduct a thorough Process Hazards Analysis (PHA) for the following areas raw material storage, raw material feed systems, catalyst preparation, and catalyst storage. The PHA leader must he on the approved corporate list. Ensure the following scenarios are considered ... 

As can be seen from the Global Reactive Chemicals Standard, all existing chemical processes will have a Reactive Chemicals/Process Hazard Analysis review on a predefined periodic basis. In addition, every new plant Production Leader should review their process with the Reactive Chemicals Committee within 90 days of assuming responsibility for a pilot or production plant. Prior to the review, the Leader should acquire training on the chemistry and processes that they are working with. This should include an evaluation of raw materials, processes, products and waste to understand any potential reactive chemical hazards. They should review and be prepared to answer questions from the completed and updated RC/PHA protocol questionnaire as well as other relevant materials in their plant Process Safety Folder, such as F EI, CEI, etc. The review should cover all auxiliary operations to the process such as raw material and product storage drum, tank car and truck loading. 

Three types of individuals are needed to support a process hazard analysis, (1) a leader,... 

The Project Manager is responsible for the implementation of the Process Safety Management (PSM) and Risk Management Programs (RMP) and must appoint a qualified hazard study leader to conduct hazards evaluations and insure that the results are incorporated into the Process Hazards Analysis and Review. 

F Choose team leader and team members to conduct process hazard analysis and train team members in analysis method selected for this process... 

Catastrophic accidents occur only rarely. This means that most employees will not have actually experienced such an event. Ironically, this lack of direct experience can be a particular problem for those conducting hazards analyses at those facilities that have excellent safety and environmental records. Managers and workers in such organizations do not necessarily become complacent but they may become a little too comfortable and satisfied with what they have achieved. They have trouble thinking the unthinkable. Conversely, on those plants that have witnessed a serious accident within the last few years there can be no denial that such events happen. For example. Process Hazards Analysis (PHA) leaders will often hear remarks from highly experienced team members such as Tve been here 14 years, and I ve never seen that happen... with the unspoken implication, ... therefore it cannot happen. It is the job of the PHA leader to crack that shell of unjustified self-satisfaction. 

Before the analysis commences, it is a good idea for a senior manager to lead a brief kick-off meeting. He or she will explain the company s commitment to the hazards analysis process and describe some of the details of the charge letter. The team leader can then explain the detailed plans for the work that is to be done during the course of the analysis. 

The success of any hazards analysis depends almost entirely on the quality of the team, which is why it is so critical to have the facility s most experienced and knowledgeable people on the team, in spite of the fact that they are needed in so many other areas. Therefore, one of the most important of the leader s jobs is to ensure that he or she has the best possible team. 

As with any team effort, the quality of the leadership is critical. The leader must somehow allow people to dream up potentially bizarre situations in anticipation that one or two of these situations will actually turn out to be plausible. At the same time, he or she has to keep the hazards analysis on track in terms of schedule and budget. Also, some team members enjoy the brainstorming process so much that they become counterproductive in terms of overall team effort. The leader needs to keep them focused. 

Effective team leaders develop generalizations from the hazards analysis discussion. For example, the leader may note that many of the identified hazards could be mitigated with better operating procedures. This finding indicates that a general recommendation concerning upgrading procedures may be in order. 

Some participants can become quite defensive to the point of treating the findings of the analysis as challenges to their professional competence. An effective leader makes it clear to all that the purpose of the hazards analysis is to ensure process safety and operational integrity, not to challenge the proficiency, competence, or professionalism of any person or group of persons. 

Occasionally, a leader may choose to explicitly cross-examine one of the members of the team, particularly if there has been an incident, the follow-up to which may not have been adequate. However, the leader must be careful not to be too tough on those who are unused to having their thought processes challenged the purpose of a hazards analysis is to identify hazards, not to put down people. 

The leader does far more than merely call out the guidewords and organize the team logistics. He or she must set the tone of the hazards analysis through behavior and style. Indeed, the leader should think through the approach that to be selected before the hazards analysis starts. 

In general, the leader will often find it to be most effective to be sympathetic with working people who are unused to the hazards analysis process, while at the same time being much more assertive with senior managers. 

Some recommendations are best handled by outside experts. For example, if the team has found that a certain compressor represents a hazard, the recommendation as to what needs to be done may need to come from the compressor manufacturer. For this reason, care should be taken about giving the hazards analysis team the responsibility for fuUy resolving recommendations. If it does have that responsibility, then the leader should understand the importance of reaching outside the team for specialist help. Hazards analysis teams are made up of people who are expert on the unit being analyzed, but who are not specialists in specific areas of technology. The team members may simply not have the knowledge to be able to find the right solution, and they will be less efficient than the experts. 

During the course of the hazards analysis, the scribe will be transcribing the team s discussions on the fly. Only in the rarest of circumstances with the notes be of publishable quality. Therefore, the first step in the report preparation is for the leader and scribe to clarify and expand the notes while their memories are still fresh. This can be done every day or two, rather than waiting for the conclusion of the analysis meetings. The cleaned up notes can be included as an Attachment to the final report. 

The hazards analysis team, and particularly the leader, must be sensitive to the legal implications of their work. By its very nature, such an analysis creates smoking guns and potential liability... 

When hazards analysis teams have trouble analyzing the complex systems, the leader should consider opting for a technique such as FTA that uses rigorous logic and that can deal with intricate... 

The MHS should be conducted by individuals with a high level of experience both in the way processes operate and in HAZID. The hazards analysis team leader will often find that leading a hazards analysis for a new facility is more difficult than for an existing facility for the following reasons ... 

In order to save time, the leader and scribe may preselect the nodes. In a very simple process, this decision may make sense. Generally, however, the team as a whole should decide on the nodes, partly because all hazards analysis decisions are team decisions, and partly because the definition and selection of a node often is affected by the discussions that have taken place with regard to earlier nodes. Also, if the leader and scribe are from outside the local organization, they may not fully understand all the process parameters that could affect node selection. 

The HAZOP method is probably the most thorough hazards analysis technique, and the one which has the largest number of experienced users and trained leaders. Therefore, it is likely to the method which offers the greatest assurance that major hazards have been identified. 

In the introduction to this section it was suggested that fault trees are best used to analyze and better define the hazards that have already been identified by one of the more creative hazards analysis methods, such as HAZOP. However, fault trees can also be used just to identify hazards. When used in this manner the method is known as Qualitative FTA (QFTA). Using this approach, the hazards analysis team leader, using a whiteboard develops the tree in conjunction with the team. He or she postulates the Top Event, such as Tank T-lOO overflowing, and asks the team members to suggest ways in which this may happen. As the discussion develops, the leader sketches out the OR and AND Gates of the Tree, showing the combinations of events that need to occm for the Top Event to occur. 

Because the facility is not yet operating, the leader of the hazards analysis team is less likely to run into problems with thinking the unthinkable."... 

PHA (Process Hazard Analysis) Study PHA study during FEED stage is crucial as it may require changing some or a major part of the project due to process safety risks. It has potential to escalate the project cost significantly. PHA study is conducted by the PHA leader, who is a highly qualified process/safety engineer with many years of operations and... 

As with hazards analysis, the key to successful incident investigation is having a leader who has extensive industrial experience and who is properly trained in conducting investigations. Those people are hard to find. 

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