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ACCIDENTS DON’T HAVE TO HAPPEN. Three elements of a successful safety process: • Hazard analysis • Pro-active planning • Employee participation. RECIPE FOR DISASTER. Piper Alpha was similar to other oil rigs. Yet there were some important differences:
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ACCIDENTS DON’T HAVE TO HAPPEN Three elements of a successful safety process: • Hazard analysis • Pro-active planning • Employee participation.
RECIPE FOR DISASTER • Piper Alpha was similar to other oil rigs. Yet there were some important differences: • Design changes compromised crew and equipment safety. • Changes to normal operating routine were normal practice. • Few audits and quality checks to prevent unsafe practices.
RECIPE FOR DISASTER continued • Limited personnel training on work permitting and emergency procedures • Degraded work permit system • Personnel not routinely drilled in emergency and disaster procedures.
DESIGN CHANGES • When Piper Alpha was modified a hazard analysis would have shown: • Potentially hazardous gas extraction equipment built close to the Control Room endangered people. • Gas pipelines were installed close to oil piping. • Blast walls were not installed.
NORMAL OPERATING PROCEDURES • When divers worked near seawater intakes, fire control pumps had to be placed in MANUAL mode. • But unlike other platforms, pumps were routinely switched from AUTO to MANUAL.
MANAGEMENT OF CHANGE • Two important processes were left out: • Management of Change Procedure • Process Hazard Analysis
WORK PERMITS AND AUDITS • A strict work permit system with routine audits could have identified: • Routine loss/misfiling of work permits • Missing checks that ensured proper notification • Weaknesses in personnel training • Casual attitude toward work permits and safety • Lack of communication between crucial personnel.
SAFETY – PART OF A PROCESS • Safety policies and procedures need to be understood, followed and audited. • Safety is everyone’s responsibility. • Each time you act, weigh the risks of that action.
EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN • Regularly scheduled emergency and evacuation drills might have identified and corrected: • Slowly operating extendable gangway on the Faros safety vessel • No alternate escape routes in case of fire • Not shutting down transfer operations on neighboring rigs • No alternate emergency control space.
EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN continued • Indecisive action in emergencies. • Insufficient emergency evacuation training. Knowing your role in an emergency can save lives.
IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING Good safety training covers: • Work permit system • Emergency and disaster action plans • Changes to normal operating procedures • Basic operational risk analysis • Emergency shutdown procedures • Roles, responsibilities and lines of authority.
LINES OF COMMUNICATION Clear lines of communication and authority are necessary in an emergency between: • Maintenance and production personnel • On-site and off-site facilities • Emergency responders.
LINES OF COMMUNICATION continued Routine emergency drills might have shown the need for better communication between all personnel. Operating managers need authority to make difficult decisions quickly.
SUMMARY • A complete safety program should include: • Management of Change Procedures – for reviewing changes in design and to normal procedures • Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) – to analyze risks and hazards of actions • Work Permit System – strictly enforced and audited
SUMMARY continued • Emergency and Disaster Plan – clearly defined steps and actions • Training – classroom, hands-on and regularly scheduled emergency/evacuation drills • Operational Risk Analysis – every worker, every day considering the risks of each action.
