Proactive

The pro in prochiral means before or in advance of in roughly the same way as in proactive... 

An underlying nwtivation triggers one or more concerns about a company s facility or activity. Sometimes the underlying motivation is simply a perception that a problem exists. A single, memorable catastrophe can also galvanize concern. The motivation of an increasing number of companies to use QRA is a proactive desire to improve safety. 

The SRK model can also be used as part of a approach for the elimination of errors that have serious consequences proactive for the plant. Once specific errors have been identified, based on the SRK model, interventions such as improved procedures, training or equipment design can be implemented to reduce their likelihood of occurrence to acceptable levels. This strategy will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 4. 

In addition to the proactive uses of the SRK model described in the two previous sections, it can also be employed retrospectively as a means of identifying the underlying causes of incidents attributed to human error. This is a particularly useful application, since causal analyses can be used to identify recurrent vmderlying problems which may be responsible for errors which at a surface level are very different. It has already been indicated in Section 2.4.1 that the same observable error can arise from a variety of alternative causes. In this section it will be shown how several of the concepts discussed up to this point can be combined to provide a powerful analytical framework that can be used to identify the root causes of incidents. 

This is a proactive process which involves the following stages ... 

Error Prediction for Safety Analysis and Proactive Error Reduction This procedure is performed when error modes are being identified (e.g., critical action omitted, alternative imsafe action carried out) as part of a predictive safety analysis (e.g., CPQRA) or as part of a proactive error reduction process (see Chapter 4). 

In subsequent sections the application of PIFs to various aspects of error reduction will be described. One of the most important of these applications is the use of comprehensive lists of PIFs as a means of auditing an existing plant to identify problem areas that will give rise to increased error potential. This is one aspect of the proactive approach to error reduction that forms a major theme of this book. This application of PIFs can be used by process workers as part of a participative error reduction program. This is an important feature of the human factors assessment methodology (HFAM) approach discussed in Section 2.7. 

If there are situations where ordinary procedures may be suspended for specific purposes, these need to be carefully defined and controlled by the proactive development of "rules" which explicitly state the boxmdary conditions for such interventions. 

The third category of methods addressed in this chapter are error analysis and reduction methodologies. Error analysis techniques can either be applied in a proactive or retrospective mode. In the proactive mode they are used to predict possible errors when tasks are being analyzed during chemical process quantitative risk assessment and design evaluations. When applied retrospectively, they are used to identify the underlying causes of errors giving rise to accidents. Very often the distinction between task analysis and error analysis is blurred, since the process of error analysis always has to proceed from a comprehensive description of a task, usually derived from a task analysis. 

The last category of techniques are various forms of checklists of factors that can influence human reliability. These are used mainly in a proactive auditing mode. They have the advantage that they are quick and easy to apply. However, considerable training may be necessary to interpret the results and to generate appropriate remedial strategies in the event that problems are identified. 

Despite these difficulties, the issue of cognitive errors is sufficiently important that we will describe some of the approaches that have been applied to process industry systems. These techniques can be used in both proactive... 

The CADET technique can be applied both proactively and retrospectively. In its proactive mode, it can be used to identify potenrial cognitive errors, which can then be factored into CPQRA analyzes to help generate failure scenarios arising from mistakes as well as slips. As discussed in Chapter... 

The focus of this chapter has been on proactive application of these analytical methods such as safety audits, development of procedures, training needs analysis, and equipment design. However, many of these methods can also be used in a retrospective mode, and this issue deserves further attention in its own right. Chapter 6 describes analytical methods for accident investigations and data collection. 

The function of this section is to provide an overall framework within which to describe the important aspects of data collection systems in the CPI. As mentioned in the introduction, the emphasis in this chapter will be on methods for identifying the causes of errors that have led to accidents or significant near misses. This information is used to prevent reoccurrence of similar accidents, and to identify the underlying causes that may give rise to new types of accidents in the future. Data collection thus has a proactive accident prevention function, even though it is retrospective in the sense that it is usually carried out after an accident or near miss has already occurred. 

Case study 3 illustrates the use of proactive techniques to analyze operator tasks, predict errors and develop methods to prevent an error occurring. Methods for the development of operating instructions and checklists are shown using the same chemical plant as in case study 2. 

This indicates that error management comprises two strategies proactive methods are applied to prevent errors occurring, and reactive strategies are used to learn lessons from incidents that have occurred and to apply these lessons to the development of preventive measures. Both proactive and reactive methods rely on an understanding of the courses of human error based on the theories and perspectives presented in this book. The tools and tech-... 

Setting Up the Proactive Error Management System This system will include the following topics ... 

Identification of critical tasks. This is an important initial step as it identifies the areas where application of proactive error reduction approaches will produce the greatest benefits (see Chapter 5)... 

Furthermore, to obtain the maximum benefit, BW treatment programs demand an innovative and proactive mindset from owners, oper-... 

To achieve this objective at the operational level, consistently good water treatment practice is required on site. However, achieving this objective cannot and should not be the sole prerogative or responsibility of any one person. Rather, if success is to be attained and maintained, it requires a proactive approach with joint participation, support, and communication by the water treatment service company and the owners and/or operators of the boiler plant. 

In addition to supplying the various water-steamside conditioning equipment, chemical treatments, and periodic cleaning or other specialist services, service companies are expected to provide advice, practical expertise, and general support for their program in a proactive manner, to prevent waterside and operational problems from occurring. 

---