Injury prevention engineering controls

The objectives of fire prevention or protection engineering are to minimize opportunities for personal injury, loss of life, property damage, and production interruptions. These objectives are achieved by (1) prevention, (2) control, and (3) extinguishment of fire. The term fire prevention applies to that phase of process design which minimizes fire hazards inherent in the process. Fire control refers to that phase of process design which seeks to control and protect against fires which have already been started, until available extinguishing forces can become effective. 

This section tells how to prevent injury and illness due to chemical exposure. It includes eye protection, respiratory protection, protective clothing, engineering controls to prevent exposure, such as exhaust ventilation or dust collection, and may include exposure limits and advice about monitoring workers. 

An individnal who, by virtne of specialized knowledge and skill, training, and edncational accomplishments, identifies hazards and develops appropriate controls for these hazards, that when effectively implemented, prevent occnpational injury, illness, and property damage. These individuals may also have been awarded or earned the status of Certified Safety Professional by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. See also Loss Prevention Engineer (LPE) Safety Professional Safety Representative. 

Conduct a workplace inspection to make sure tools, equipment, and machinery are properly guarded and that wherever possible those hazards are controlled by engineering methods. Some ways to tell if your engineering controls are effective are to determine if they (1) do not result in less efficient operation of the equipment, (2) are able to prevent an injury or illness at all times, even when the worker is distracted, and (3) protect employees from environmental hazards. 

Alarm systems are imperative for use in psychiatric units, hospitals, mental health clinics, high-hazard areas, emergency rooms, or where drugs are stored. Whereas alarm systems are not necessarily preventive, they may reduce serious injury when a person is acting in an abusive manner or threatening with or without a weapon. Many other engineering controls can be used such as the following ... 

The theory of risk management as applied to injury prevention in any area of human endeavour advocates the adoption of a hierarchy of controls (Figure 5.1)." The three most effective strategies within the six-level hierarchy are elimination, substitution, and engineering controls. Applied to traffic safety, an example of risk elimination is the separation of opposing carriageways to remove the possibility of head-on crashes. An example of the substitution of a greater risk with a lesser one is the installation of roadside barrier that replaces a collision with a tree (in the event of... 

A safety interlock control function must be separate from the BPCS. Its function is not on-spec product but the prevention of a catastrophic event that would result in human injury or death or damage to equipment. Safety interlocks are usually hardwired to make it difficult to bypass or defeat them. This is done because there have been past occurrences of a unit engineer or a process technician jumping to the conclusion that an alarm was faulty and there was no problem. They tried to go around the interlock to shut off the alarm or prevent process interference. Safety interlocks must not be bypassed without written approval. 

Identify some standards of practice in individual engineering fields for specific hazards and their controls. Talk to craftsmen to see what standards of practice they use in certain tasks to prevent injuries. 

As in most industries, people work together with machines in an environment that causes employees to face hazards that can lead to injury, disability, or even death. To prevent industrial accidents, the people, machines, and other factors that can cause accidents, including the energy associated with them, must be controlled. This can be done through education and training, good safety engineering, and enforcement... 

Process safety refers to the application of engineering, science, and human factors to the design and operation of chemical processes and systems. The primary purpose of process safety is to prevent injuries, fatalities, fires, explosions, and unexpected releases of hazardous materials. Process safety focuses on the individual chemical processes and operational procedures associated with these systems. A process safety analysis is used to establish safe operating parameters, instrument interlocks, alarms, process design, and start-up, shutdown, and emergency procedures. Process safety programs cannot completely eliminate risk they can only control or reduce those risks. 

Larsson T.J. Clayton A. (eds.) 1994. Insurance and prevention some thoughts on social engineering in relation to externally caused injury and disease. IPSO. Stockholm. NACMCF (1997). Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Principles and Application Guidelines No. National Advisoiy Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods. 

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