This paper seeks to use the Flixborough disaster as a case study to point out the need for systems thinking in industrial activities. There have been many industrial disasters but one that stands out in its category of Temporary Modifications is the Flixborough disaster. Using a couple of systems thinking tools described in Anderson and Johnson’s (1997) book; Systems Thinking Basics, we outline all the events leading to the disaster in comparison to the possible outcome if systems thinking had been applied. One example of systems thinking is OSHA’s process safety management standard. Based on the models used in this paper, it can generally be inferred that with the right systemic approach, industrial accidents can be totally eliminated. Numerous events have occurred over time in industry. Some of these events have paved the way for safe activities in today’s industry. One such event is the Flixborough Disaster. My objective in this paper is to analyze the Flixborough Disaster as a system and the impact of process safety management on industry safety. The Flixborough Disaster is the most famous of all temporary modifications disasters where a temporary pipe was installed in the Nypro Factory at Flixborough. It failed two months later (Kletz, 1998). The disaster was an explosion of warlike dimensions which occurred at about 4.53 PM on Saturday June 1st 1974 and left the Flixborough works of
Proper training and protocols may have solved or prevented the problem. With more problems to add to the list of chain reactions from the accident, the government had to change industry safety which in turn, increased industry safety. New study groups were used to research the incident. New organizations had to be created to conduct proper training implementing the safety measures for the power plant operators. Many new publications had to be brought into existence to have better oversight of nuclear power plant operations. A
The Triangle was undoubtedly one of the most tragic events in the worlds history. The not only is the fire a horrifying event, but the factory had no safety precautions and didn’t have any emergency exits and kept doors locked. Not only did this strike sorrow on the community, but it awakened people to realize that workplace safety is a serious thing and needs to be practiced.
Organisational safety management implies that disasters happen out of a complexity of intermingled reasons but not due to technical factors alone. Proper event management is a
This article addresses how modern constructed public buildings are often unsafe. This is because most of them include big windows and large open spaces designed to inspire patrons of the building. Instead of fortressing these structures, this piece suggests renovating the entrances. This agrees with the essay in the way both stress the importance of front-end security. It gives many helpful tips at further improving entrance security. Atlas does mention not wanting to make schools
Throughout history, there has been a multitude of events that have helped shape the Occupational Safety and Health doctrines that we have today. Some events have had small impacts, and others have totally reshaped how an entire industry operates. Although there are many incidents that we can talk about, we are going to focus on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Within this subject, we will talk about the specific events that happened, what safety standards existed and what standards were penned because of the incident, and how the existing safety standards keep a similar tragedy from happening in the current era. With all of this information, we will have a better picture of how the world of Occupational Safety and Health evolves throughout
Currently the process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals is a broad standard that covers many industries possessing chemicals above a threshold quantity. The standard does not distinguish between different industries or different chemicals. It may be advisable to adapt the standard to differentiate between industries and chemicals. This would make the standard more specific and could focus on industry specific hazard prevention, best management practices, recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices, and emergency
By checking OR-KIDS, Mr Stanley, who is the legal father of the child was not in contact with his son since the child was discharged from the hospital.
From major toxic gas releases to bombings there has been an incremental increase in recognition to industrial accidents and how they can affect the lives of us all. The emergency planning process can have serious ramifications on the people and the environment when it is not managed appropriately (Erickson, 1999). September 11, 2001 the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed 56 minutes after being struck. Only 14 people that were in the impact zone survived. If the use of high rise elevators had been evaluated people in that impact zone could have possibly made it to the ground in as much time as 40 minutes which would have saved numerous lives (Pigg, 2013, p.5). Tragedies like this are why it is important to respond to emergencies in a way that minimizes harm to people and the risk mitigation starts by
Introduction. On January 06, 2005, a cargo train carrying a massive amount of chlorine gas spilled in Graniteville, South Carolina, creating panic and indeed chaos to both citizens and emergency personnel’s. The residents were caught in their sleep when freight train 192 traveling approximately 47 mph struck and leaked a dangerous amount of chlorine gas into the atmosphere. As a result of this tragedy, 5,400 individuals were evacuated from their homes and nine victims later died of gas related causes. The magnitude of this disaster was one that would change any town or city forever. And such sentiments were felt throughout the community of Graniteville. However, the purpose of this paper is to discuss what was learned from this unanticipated train calamity in Graniteville. While exploring how the field of emergency management can properly respond to unforeseen transportation accidents through implementing efficient and effective ways of communication in the midst of an incident.
Safety is an important function of our daily lives and requires the same attention we give other functions and processes within our daily job routines. Over the years as we continue to do our jobs and the same processes we can become less safe by using short cuts to make a process easier for ourselves. Also, the equipment we use begins to age and breakdown and cause unsafe conditions. Safety professionals use many different types of safety programs to combat safety related issues or problems one may encounter on a job site. Employee involvement is the most important part of any safety program. Without employee involvement safety programs are not as successful, because employees are sometimes not aware of the process and steps in place to protect them.
Many changes have occurred since the 1992 convention in Minamata, Japan. The world has recognized a need for an anticipatory approach to manage industrial disasters. In the US the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has tried to improve and anticipate the industrial safety of chemical facilities. In response to the Bhopal, India tragedy the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) section 112(r) requires the EPA to publish the Risk Management Plan (RMP) regulations. Part of the CAAA mandated that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) create the Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals 29 CFR 1910.119 standard. These regulations require hazard assessments, chemical release prevention programs, and emergency response preparedness (Environmental Protection Agency, 2009).
The Grangemouth contract involves carrying out operational, maintenance and project work on a large petrochemical contract. The hazards and risks associated with these activities are therefore diverse, and as the Texas City2 and Buncefield3 explosions showed they can have catastrophic consequences. The controls in place are suitably robust and exacting as you would expect when working on such a site. The most significant hazards associated with Ondeo's activities onsite were deemed to be working in confined spaces when hand excavating on the firemain project and the unloading of 96% sulphuric acid at the water treatment plant (WTP). A number of opportunities for improvement were identified with these activities which included: • The usage of new technologies such as hydro excavation and ground
It is important it have a written work Health and Safety Policy for the organizations and businesses which have management systems. The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 addresses Major Hazard Facilities in Regulation 558 and Schedule 17(1.2) and requires that the Safety Management System includes a Safety Policy, including the operator’s broad aims in relation to the safe operation of the major hazard facility, and that the safety policy must include and express commitment to ongoing improvement of all aspects of the safety management system. A Work Health and Safety Policy is an explicit statement of business commitment to work health and safety. It will include a statement outlining the importance which is placed on work health and safety and how it is to be implemented.
Just recently, All Weather Windows Commercial Ltd., has purchased a smaller company with a large glass manufacturing facility. This smaller company has approximately 150 employees that now work under our organization. Throughout this assignment, I will focus on basic safety initiatives to implement into the new facility. The reason I chose to focus on implementing basic safety initiatives, is based on the fact, this new facility is populated with many plant workers and has to now adopt my organization safety program.
The aim of this essay is to determine the inevitability of organisational accidents. An organisational accident is defined as an undesired or potentially disastrous event that is caused by the decisions and actions of the company. This essay will argue that organisational accidents cannot be avoided. As a first step, this essay will detail Perrow’s Normal Accident Theory in which he asserts that the implementation of complex systems by organisations / companies has resulted in unpreventable organisational accidents. The 2011 Fukasmi nuclear accident will be explained to support this assertion. As a second step, human error by those in the organisation as a factor which causes accidents will be analysed through Reason’s