Safety Matters Receive Attention

One of the attributes of a positive safety culture is when safety items receive prompt attention. High-risk practices and acts that are reported should receive attention, and remedial measures should be forthcoming. Reports of near-miss incidents should be recorded, tracked, and feedback given to everyone, not only the reporter. A system of risk ranking is useful in allocating resources and priorities to safety action items. If not ranked, all safety items will be considered as priority, and with all items being the priority, none will be handled in a timely manner. 

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Plant drainage is an open-channel flow problem, but not one restricted to slurries. For all too many plant designs, drainage was a matter that received insufficient attention until too late, and consequently it has been one of the hardest problems to rectify. The result is plants with stagnant pools at various places, with the associated safety and corrosion problems and extra labour costs. 

Maintenance standards are a matter for the organisation to determine there must be a cost balance between intervention with normal operations by planned maintenance and the acceptance of losses because of breakdowns or other failures. From the health and safety aspect, however, defects requiring maintenance attention which have led or could lead to increased risk for the workforce should receive a high priority. Linking inspections with maintenance can be useful, so that work areas and equipment are checked regularly for present and possible future defects. Some plant items may be subject to statutory maintenance requirements, and the manufacturer s instructions in this respect should be complied with as well. 

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