Adequately address abnormal operations

Abstract

Abnormal situation management (ASM) is a safety issue, and safety long has been a top priority for companies in the chemical process industries (CPI). To investigate and identify root causes of abnormal operations and to pinpoint best practices for preventing these situations or at least handling them most effectively, the author formed a team and conducted surveys around the world, including the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Japan. The author visited a variety of facilities, including gas processing plants, oil refineries, a coker, ethylene plant, polyethylene units, steam-generating stations, as well as transportation and storage facilities. The team identified eight key issues: lack of management leadership; the significant role of human errors; inadequate design of the work environment; absence of procedures for dealing with abnormal operations (as opposed to emergencies); loss of valuable information from earlier minor incidents; the potential economic return; transferability of good ASM performance to other plants; and the importance of teamwork and job design. The paper looks at each of these in more detail, as well as what`s involved in assessing the ASM at a site.