A presentation from Michael Fleming, CEO and Head of Global Operations at Decision Point Associates, Inc. AIChE Meeting, April 28th, 2015.

1. Bridging Hazard Recognition
Knowledge and Competency for
Process and Occupational Safety
Michael A. Fleming, CSP
1© Decision Point Associates, Inc.

2. A “Safety Culture” imperative
Dual risks of process and occupational safety and health
require developing workers’ knowledge and competency
with a universally applicable energy-based hazard
recognition thought process
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 2
Introduction

3. “Information is not knowledge. The world is
drowning in information but is slow in
acquisition of knowledge. There is no
substitute for knowledge.”
W.E. Deming, The New Economics for Industry,
Government & Education
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 3
Introduction

4. “Systems are not basically safe. People in
them have to create safety by tying together the
patchwork of technologies, adapting under
pressure, and acting under uncertainty.”
S. Dekker, The Field Guide to Understanding Human
Error
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 4
A Worker’s Viewpoint

5. Separate management systems create an even
greater abundance of information for workers to
comprehend, such as:
- regulatory compliance
- industry-specific process safety
- industry-specific occupational safety and health
- organization-specific systems
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 5
A Worker’s Viewpoint

6. Creating a culture of safety that is continuously
on the alert for what could go wrong is vital to:
- safety of workers
- the surrounding community
- the environment
- facility assets
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 6
A Worker’s Viewpoint

7. A common definition of a hazard:
“something that can cause harm to people, the
environment, or assets”
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 7
A Worker’s Viewpoint

8. Why bridge process and occupational safety
and health? Because:
- risk for both stem from the presence of harmful energy
- workers are often responsible for decisions affecting
both – sometimes simultaneously
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 8
A Worker’s Viewpoint

9. MORT Diagram – Gate SA1
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 9
The Energy Behind Hazards
Accident
Potentially
Harmful Energy
Flow or Condition
Vulnerable
People or Objects
Controls &
Barriers LTA
Events and
Energy Flows
Leading to
Accident/Incident
SA1
SB1 SB2 SB3 SB4

10. Energy is the physical capacity to do work
An abnormal or unexpected release (transfer)
of energy in certain ways, amounts, and rates
can harm people, environment, facilities
A basic preventative approach involves, among
other things, identifying energy sources
Trost and Nertney, Barrier Analysis
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 10
The Energy Behind Hazards

11. A new definition of a hazard is:
“the potential for an uncontrolled release of, or an
unwanted contact with, an energy source that can
result in harm to people, the environment, assets,
or company’s reputation”
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 11
A Simplified Viewpoint
for Workers

12. There are many forms of energy in process
industries
- CCPS, A Practical Approach To Hazard Identification
For Operations And Maintenance Workers
(24 subtitles related to energy)
- R. L. Brauer, Health and Safety for Engineers
(27 subtitles related to energy)
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 12
A Simplified Viewpoint
for Workers

13. “The simplicity and power of a checklist
approach to prompt consideration of key issues
– especially in complex situations – should not
be overlooked”
A. Gawande, The Checklist Manifesto
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 13
A Simplified Viewpoint
for Workers

14. How bad could it be?
Incident severity is related to:
- magnitude of energy
- means of energy transfer or transformation
- rates of energy transfer
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 14
A Simplified Viewpoint
for Workers

15. © Decision Point Associates, Inc. 15
A Simplified Viewpoint
for Workers
Factors Affecting
the Magnitude for
Potential Harm
Process Safety
Examples
Occupational Safety
Examples
Energy
characteristics
Toxicity, reactivity, stability,
and flammability
Decibel level of sound
Stored energy
Suspended loads over
process lines
Heat retained in motors
after being turned off
Dynamic energy
Chemical transfer between
vessels
Rotating equipment
Multiple energy
sources
Incompatible chemical
mixture
Human entering into a
confined space
Lack or loss
of energy
Lack of lubrication in a
fan’s bearing casing
Lack of oxygen in a
confined space
Duration
Rapid or instantaneous
burst of a pressure vessel
Intermittent exposure to a
chemical over a year

16. © Decision Point Associates, Inc. 16
A Simplified Viewpoint
for Workers
Traditional
Hierarchy of Controls
Simplified Energy
Management Techniques
Elimination Increasing
effectiveness
Decreasing
effectiveness
Eliminate
- Complete removal
- Substitution of a hazardous
chemical with a non-hazardous
Substitution
Engineering Control
- Controlled in some manner
- Energy is still presentWarnings
Administrative Controls
Personal Protective
Equipment
Protect
- Protective barrier is provided to
block or prevent transfer
- Energy is still present

17. “Prior to any major accident there are always
warning signs which, had they been responded
to, would have averted the incident. But they
weren’t. They were ignored. Very often there
is a whole culture of denial operating to
suppress these warning signs.”
CCPS, Recognizing Catastrophic Incident Warning
Signs in the Process Industries
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 17
A Simplified Viewpoint
for Workers

18. © Decision Point Associates, Inc. 18
A Simplified Viewpoint
for Workers
Warning Sign
(Stop-the-Job
Trigger)
Process Safety
Warning Sign
Examples
Occupational Safety
Stop-the-Job Trigger
Examples
Normalization of
deviance
Alarms that evolve into
nuisance alarms
Short cuts to access an
elevated valve
Culture of denial
Multiple years without a
major process incident
Low personnel injury rates
over an extended period
Training and
competency
Operators passing
competency tests without
full understanding of the
process
Compressed workplace
safety training without
competency demonstration
Process safety
information
Records lagging facility
changes such as MOC
Operators lacking chemical
hazard knowledge
Audits
Goal of audit is high
performance causing
misleading findings
Audit findings not
communicated to affected
workers

19. Five important hazard
recognition questions:
1. What is the job?
2. What energy is involved?
3. Where is the energy going?
4. How will we manage the
energy for a safe job?
5. What are the specific
Stop-the-Job Triggers?
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 19
A Simplified Viewpoint
for Workers

20. Four Levels of Training
To build worker hazard recognition knowledge
and competency, it is important to provide:
- hazard recognition fundamentals
- basic process and occupational understanding
- job-specific training
- hazard recognition practice
© Decision Point Associates, Inc. 20
A Simplified Viewpoint
for Workers

21. Conclusion
To advance incident prevention it is necessary to
go beyond providing more information and training
Developing workers knowledge and competency
with a simple, logical, and universally applicable
energy-based hazard recognition thought process
is a safety culture imperative – for both process
and occupational safety and health
21© Decision Point Associates, Inc.
Conclusion