Procedure development, system safety

A Safe Operating Procedure developed to create a uniform method to ensure that appropriate steps are taken prior to bypassing or removing an alarm, instrument, or shutdown system IWim service is described in the section that follows. This procedure can provide an effective way of communicating the status of an impaired instrument. The procedure has been in use for over five years. It assumes that all instrumentation has been classified into three safety critical systems. [7] (These classes have been defined in Chapter 9, but are repeated here.)... 

A request for a procedure change could also tri r the MOC system. For example, to shorten batch cycle time, a change in the sequence of procedure steps is proposed. This would require an MOC evaluation for process safety, environmental, and quality impact. If the request is approved, the procedure should then be developed or revised according to the standards set in your procedure management system. 

Unlike production, engineering, and other functions, when things do not happen within the safety and health realm, this is a positive. When employees are being injured, chemical being spilled, procedures not being followed, and related events, this is a negative and often means that there is a problem within the safety and health system. Safety and health professionals often need to think on their feet to critically and creatively develop solutions to address the needs of the situation. The corrective action(s) often does not come from the standards and regulations but from the mind of the safety and health professional. Safety and health is as much an art as it is a science. 

The final level. Operations, provides a view of the operational system and acts as the interface between development and operations. It assists in designing and performing system safety activities during system operations. It may contain required or suggested operational audit procedures, user manuals, training materials, maintenance requirements, error reports and change requests, historical usage information, and so on. 

During program and project planning, a system safety plan, standards, and project development safety control structure need to be designed including policies, procedures, the safety management and control structure, and communication channels. More about safety management plans can be found in chapters 12 and 13. 

At this point in development, the safety requirements and constraints are documented and traced to the design features used to implement them. A hazard log contains the hazard information (or links to it) generated during the development process and the results of the hazard analysis performed. The log will contain embedded links to the resolution of each hazard, such as functional requirements, design constraints, system design features, operational procedures, and system limitations. The information documented should be easy to collect into a form that can be used for the final safety assessment and certification of the system. 

System safety concepts promote the establishment of policies and procedures that are to achieve an effective, orderly and continuous hazards management process for the design, development, installation, and maintenance, of all facilities, materials, hardware, equipment, tooling, and products, and for their eventual disposal. 

In MORT Safety Assurance Systems, a 1980 pubhcation, William G. Johnson refers to work done by R. J. Nertney, who developed a provocative method of examining the successive phases in hardware-procedure development and also examining the all important interfaces between those three elements. Elements in the Nertney system are... 

The focus of study in this paper is the role of the industrial relations systems in improving safety at the workplace. A comparison is made between the industrial relations systems of the offshore oil and gas industry and that of the onshore metal industry. The purpose is to develop a better understanding of how bipartism/ tripartism may play a role in developing sound safety procedure and practice. A comparison across offshore oil and gas and onshore metal industry means to make use of one industry in order to examine and reflect on the other, and vice versa. 

Explanation for interrelationship between survey questions Good procedures are supposed to be helpful in the work (PI). It is assumed that procedures are more easily put into operational practice if the user has received training in how to understand and apply the procedures, and the safety role they play (P2). They are also assumed to be more workable if they reflect the reality of the working process. That is ensured through involving the crew in the development of procedures, and by paying attention to crews ejqierience (P3). If these factors (P2 P3) are not present, the procedural system may be perceived as confusing and difficult to relate to (P4 P5) (Reason, 2001). 

In 1985, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) initiated a project to produce the Guidelines for Hazard Evaluation Procedures. This document, prepared by Battelle, includes many system safety analysis tools. Even though frequently identified as hazard and operability (HazOp) programs, the methods being developed by the petrochemical industry to use preliminary hazard analyses, fault trees, failure modes, effects, and criticality analyses, as well as similar techniques to identify, analyze, and control risks systematically, look very much like system safety efforts tailored for the petrochemical industry (Goldwaite 1985). 

The job safety analysis (JSA) has been a part of the industrial and occupational safety effort for many years. It is basically a method of developing job procedures that includes a systematic task analysis that examines each step of a job or task, the possible hazards associated with each step, and preventive or corrective actions required to ensure a safe operation. The technique may be appropriate to include in a life cycle system safety effort but has not traditionally been considered a system safety analysis. The JSA may be referred to as a job hazard analysis or job task analysis, even though some make distinctions between the approaches. 

System Safety professionals shall assure the development of standards, codes, procedures or other similar documentation to enable the public and clients to understand the degree of safety, risk and life expectancy associated with the use and operation of the products and systems for which they are responsible. 

The Department of Defense has a long-standing standard on system safety. The standard covers methods and procedures. The Department of Defense also extends system safety practices to software development" and other procurement regulations. Software is often an integral and critical pait of aircraft, weapon, and other systems. Software can introduce hazards for those involved with a system. 

Different organizations have variations for the appUcation of system safety methods and procedures. Military Standard 882 (MIL-STD 882) addresses an approach for mishaps and risks encountered during the development, testing, production, use, and disposal of systems, subsystems, equipment, and facilities. Those engaged in military acquisitions have used the procedures in MIL-STD 882 for a long time to identify, evaluate, and mitigate mishap risks to an acceptable level. 

Fault Tree Analysis was one of the earliest systems safety techniques developed for examining equipment failures. Fault Tree Analysis is a top down procedure that identifies undesirable events and their contributing factors. Once a tree has been developed, probabilities of failures can be determined for individual components in the tree. With the individual probabilities, overall probabilities of failures and can be calculated for event paths using Boolean algebra. 

A PHA is the initial effort in identifying hazards which singly or in combination could cause an accident or undesired event. PHA is a system-safety analysis tool used to identify hazard sources, conditions, and potential accidents (Roland and Moriarty, 1990). At the same time, PHA establishes the initial design and procedural safety requirements to eliminate or control these identified hazardous conditions. A PHA is performed in the early stages of the conceptual cycle of system development. It can be performed by engineers, contractors, production line supervisors, or safety professionals. Management must always first look at any risk involved in the operation of the system. 

A Safe Operating Procedure (SOP) or Standard Operating Procedure should include safety and health as a part of the standard operating practices delineated within it. The SOP is a set of written instructions that documents a routine or repetitive activity followed by an organization. The development and use of SOPs are an integral part of a successful quality system as it provides workers with information to perform a job properly and safely while facilitating consistency in the quality and integrity of a product or end result. 

---