Improving process safety by addressing the human element

Celanese had several process safety incidents and near misses in 1996. Although there were several root causes, this article will address only one of them; human error. The system which was developed by Celanese to improve this human element is the conduct of operations system. The conduct of operations system has improved process safety performance of the human element by focusing on three operational areas: training, procedures, and general operations. Conduct of operations is a proactive approach to improve the current practices, improve the support systems and the behavior of the operator. The benefits include the following:

• Consistent application of training and procedures
• Reduction in human error, and
• Less process safety incidents

This article will describe the need for and the content of conduct of operations system as implemented by Celanese. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2009     

油气长输管道工程人因可靠性分析

油气长输管道在其生命周期的设计、建造和运行等阶段发生的事故（腐蚀、疲劳、碰撞、火灾、爆炸等）大多与人和组织的失误有关,因此很有必要开展油气长输管道工程人因可靠性分析。针对人因可靠性分析的精确性、可靠性和稳健性等有效性问题,分析了油气长输管道工程HRA技术现状,在HRA研究方法的基础上,重点介绍了FMEA,FTA/ETA,PIDA以及SAM方法,并指出当前研究中所存在的问题及其发展方向。     

石油勘探工程与人的可靠性分析

人的可靠性分析是可靠性工程学的重要内容之一，它适合于任何有人参与的生产活动中人的可靠性分析。石油勘探工程就是一个复杂的人-机-环境系统，生产过程中存在较多的不确定因素。通过对石油行业发生的重特大事故分析表明，由于人的失误导致的事故占60%～70%,可以看出，人的可靠性在石油勘探过程中是十分重要的。因此，研究人的失误，人为什么会产生失误,人的失误具有哪些特点，以及对人的可靠性因素的分析,是石油行业安全生产所关注的现实问题。     

钻井安全作业人员可靠性分析

石油钻井工程是一个复杂的人-机-环境系统,生产过程中存在着各种不确定因素。大量研究表明,在石油钻井作业中,人的失误对钻井事故的贡献约占60％-80％,由此看出,人的可靠性分析对钻井安全作业是十分重要的。结合钻井实际．指出了人的可靠性分析对钻井安全作业的重要性,阐明了钻井作业中人误的特点,并相应给出人的可靠性因素分析和人的可靠性分析方法的基本思路,最后提出了针对性的事故预防与安全对策措施,以控制钻井工程事故中人的因素对钻井安全作业的影响。     

矿区内原油交接计量时误差存在原因分析

按照原油产量进站方式不同，以及计量工作的先后顺序，指出在联合站内原油交接计量时产生误差的环节有：管输进站原油表计量误差；拉油车进站时原油称重误差；原油取样不当误差；化验原油水值过程中产生的误差；盘库产量核实进站产量时产生的误差。误差主要为两大类，一类为仪器自身误差，一类为人为操作误差。     

Cheddar or Swiss? How strong are your barriers?

This article describes a company's experience with process safety metrics and describes systematic methods to improve safety performance. As a result of a major accident, an internal investigation identified that although a site may have numerous measures for tracking operational and safety performance, these measures may not focus on leading indicators that could provide early warning of potential major incidents. To systematically reduce incidents, especially, low probability high consequence process safety events, it is necessary to focus on prevention and specifically the strength of the barriers. The approach described in this article, therefore, aims to create a combination of Process Safety Performance Indicators that lead to stronger more robust barriers. While industrial history tells us that such high consequence events are infrequent, this significant process safety risk is always present in production operations, and thus needs to be continuously assessed and reduced through systematic safety management. Within one company, this recognition has resulted in a substantial strengthening of process safety risk management through a more comprehensive system of controls embedded within its new Operating Management System, which is being implemented at the site level across all of its operations globally. This article explores the ongoing methodology and approach being used to select a limited but crucial set of Process Safety Performance Indicators to enable effective measurement and the appropriate management of process safety performance. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2009     

影响固井作业安全的水泥浆因素及其标准化工作对策

从分析几个典型的固井作业事故事例出发,指出了影响固井作业安全的各种水泥浆因素,具体包括实验室与现场配方材料的一致性问题、混配均匀性问题、油井水泥及外加剂材质问题及水泥浆配方设计问题。从完善标准化工作的角度提出了通过加强水泥浆技术管理工作以防范固井作业事故的一系列可行措施。     

Improvements in the safety screening of resin manufacturing processes

Consequences of acrylic resin reactor runaways can be devastating, as it is evident in investigation reports of industrial accidents. Critical in preventing major accidents is the safety screening of any acrylic resin formula to be manufactured in large scale. Computer model simulations facilitate the evaluation of “layers of protection” against acrylic polymerization runaways. This work describes the adaptation of a chemical process dynamic simulator (DuPont™ TMODS™) for use in simulating acrylic polymerization runaways. “Loss of cooling” and “monomer pooling (accumulation)” scenarios are the causes of these runaways. Simulations show that scenarios leading to “monomer pooling” result in more energetic runaways and to larger emergency relief capacity requirements than “loss of cooling” scenarios. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2009     

Integration of safety management effectiveness into QRA calculations

Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA) has become an often used method in the process industry for improving safety and for land-use planning. In computing the risk by this methodology the frequency of an accident is often assessed by using generic failure frequencies which are based on historical data of incidents from databases. Little or no adjustment is made for the effectiveness of the safety management of the industrial site. Since most incidents are caused by management problems, QRA has to take into account the local safety management system. Otherwise, the results of QRA will not provide reliable information of the hazards and the corresponding risk from installations. Therefore, today's understanding of safe industrial operations requires an integrated risk assessment under the consideration of technical, organizational, and managerial aspects. This article describes a method which allows assessing the effectiveness of the local safety management system and its integration into the QRA using a single management factor. This method was developed with the aim of providing a tool which would allocate a quantitative measure for the effectiveness of the local Safety Management System for the purpose of using it directly in the QRA. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2009     

影响固井作业安全的水泥浆因素及其标准化工作对策

从分析几个典型的固井作业事故事例出发，罗列了影响固井作业安全的各种水泥浆因素．具体包括实验室与现场配方材料的一致性问题、混配均匀性问题、油井水泥及外加剂材质问题及水泥浆配方设计问题。从完善标准化工作的角度提出了加强水泥浆技术管理工作以防范固井作业事故一系列具体措施。     

新型彩钢瓦屋顶除雪机设计

为了解决由积雪引起的彩钢瓦屋顶坍塌现象,设计一种新型彩钢瓦屋顶除雪机。提出了推移式除雪和隔热保温的总体设计方案,制定了除雪和隔热保温工艺路线,对除雪机进行了结构设计、样机测试和控制设计等。使用UG软件对除雪机进行三维建模;采用ANSYS Workbench对零件进行有限元分析,检验设计的合理性;采用西门子S-200 SMART PLC作为核心控制器,完成控制原理图设计,及驱动装置、人机交互设备和各类传感器选型。结果表明,所设计的除雪机可以实现彩钢瓦屋顶的自动除雪,与人工相比效率高、安全性高、操作方便,并无除雪不均的问题出现。除雪机的设计改变了传统人工除雪方式,其结构可靠、容易操作、效率较高,可为其他斜屋顶的自动除雪提供一种新的解决方案。     

The globalization strategies of business-to-business born global firms in the wireless technology industry

This paper discusses the globalization process of business-to-business born globals in a rapidly growing industry, the wireless technology industry. Deviations in these patterns in regards to the mainstream pattern of internationalization and earlier born global literature are discussed. Furthermore, the roles of the founders and managers, the networks, the financial resources of the companies, and the innovations behind the companies under consideration are analyzed. A conceptual framework and propositions explaining the product, operation and market strategies of born globals are developed. The results suggest that born globals in the wireless sector do in fact deviate from the traditional internationalization process in many areas. Their expansion even to distant markets is rapid and they apply advanced product strategies at an early stage. However, their business operations are found to proceed at a more conventional pace and the notable difference from traditional firms is the rapid establishment of sales and marketing subsidiaries. Results emphasize the key role of the resources and capabilities of born globals in influencing the advancement of product categories, operation strategies, and global market presence. Born global firms were found to lack the resources and capabilities accumulated by traditionally internationalizing firms, and they therefore need to acquire them either through the earlier experience of the founding team, which should be complementary in nature, or from external domestic and international network actors.     

石化行业生产经营优化实用经济分析方法综述

经济分析是企业生产经营优化的基础。经济分析方法较多，实际优化工作中需要针对优化对象和优化范围选择合适的方法。石化工业是典型的过程工业，文章结合石化企业特点论述了石化企业生产经营优化三种常用经济分析方法的具体应用。指出边际贡献分析法只适合石化行业下游装置的局部优化分析，投入产出分析法可用于任何类型装置的优化分析但不适合石化企业整体优化，线性规划法作为最优化分析方法，更适合于石化企业的整体优化分析。同时指出，无论采用那种经济分析方法，都要综合考虑原料资源、装置能力、市场环境等各种相关要素。     

油库区火灾应急过程风险因素-事故情景结构方程模型研究

为了探讨油库区火灾应急过程中风险因素与事故情景间的量化作用关系，揭示事故发展演化的基本规律，通过对近50年来国内外240例油库区典型火灾爆炸事故的统计分析，从人-物-环境-管理4个方面，建立了二者间的结构方程模型。结果表明：各因素与情景间影响关系显著，其中人的因素影响系数最大，为0.46，且对火灾扩大的情景影响更大，而“误判断”这一具体因素事件最易发生。所构建的结构方程模型能较清晰地量化应急过程风险因素与情景间的作用关系，可为揭示事故发生发展的作用机理提供一定的科学依据，同时为油库区火灾事故应急安全管理提供参考。     

Safety management is a virtue

It is undeniable that safe operation and process reliability are not only compatible but highly interrelated. Reliable production units rarely have safety incidents, whereas unreliable ones tend to repeatedly experience abnormal operation. To prevent incidents, personnel, procedures, and equipment must be aligned to facilitate rapid identification and response to failures of the control system and protective safeguards. Safe and reliable performance requires minimization of the root causes that lead to abnormal and emergency operation. The challenges to accomplishing this in a timely manner are considerable, but not insurmountable. This article discusses various challenges to sustaining safe operation of process equipment. Each challenge is introduced using a philosophical saying from a Chinese fortune cookie to remind the reader that the barriers against progress are not new but have existed from many years. In most cases, the solutions are also well known and generally require deployment of robust equipment, proven techniques, and competent resources. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 2009     

煤矿工人人因失误理论分析及对策研究

基于认知心理学和人因工程学理论系统,分析了生活事件导致煤矿工人人因失误的过程,并构建生活事件视角下煤矿工人人因失误理论模型。研究表明:生活事件是导致煤矿工人人因失误的客观因素,认知评价和应对是导致人因失误的主观因素,压力反应是导致人因失误的直接原因。并根据煤矿工人人因失误产生过程提出了人因失误防控的重点和防控对策。     

Your new product development (NPD) is only as good as your process: an exploratory analysis of new NPD process design and implementation

Given industry competitiveness, how do firms' new product development (NPD) process designs differ when responding to an innovation mandate? How do NPD design elements differ across firms when implementing NPD processes? These design elements are strategic business unit (SBU) senior management involvement, business case content, customer interactions, and cross‐functional integration. What are the consequences of different combinations of NPD process design elements for innovation productivity? We explore these questions via a collective case study of newly implemented NPD process designs at three different SBUs of a major US‐based international conglomerate, 1 year after receiving the mandate to grow through innovation. Our analysis suggests that industry competitiveness and firm characteristics influence the NPD process design as SBUs employ distinct combinations of NPD design elements. The differential emphasis on design elements leads to variation in process design and divergence in innovation productivity.     

Perspective: A Review of Marketing Research on Product Design with Directions for Future Research

The authors provide synthesized summaries of research on product design conducted over the 20‐year period from 1995 to 2014, as well as suggestions for future research. Building on the conceptual model of product design proposed by Luchs and Swan, the current project describes research findings based on a review of 252 articles drawn from eight of the academic journals most influential to marketing thought, and identified by their inclusion of the terms “product design” or “industrial design” within their abstracts, subject terms, and/or author supplied keywords. Specifically, the authors provide integrated summaries of 25 product design subtopics organized within Luchs and Swan's original 11 product design research topic categories, which, in turn, address the following three general product design research categories: context and strategy, product design process, and product design consequences. These summaries are followed by suggested future research opportunities to address gaps in the literature. In addition to seeking inspiration for future research based on a review of extant research, the authors illustrate an approach for exploring research opportunities based on current and emerging industry trends, such as sustainability, the sharing economy, and the emergence of consumer‐oriented health and performance management products. For each identified industry trend, the authors provide illustrative design implications with consequent illustrative research opportunities. This balanced approach to identifying near‐term research opportunities based on extant research and based on industry trends, i.e., looking forward and externally, may in turn improve the potential impact of future research on both knowledge development and on industry practice.     

Technology‐push,market‐demand and the missing safety‐pull: a case study of American Airlines Flight 587

Through a critical case study of the crash of American Airlines Flight 587, this paper draws upon ‘the Social Shaping of Technology’ (SST) approach to offer a reconceptualisation of the technology‐push and market‐demand model for High‐Reliably Organisations (HROs), providing support for a third factor, called here a ‘safety‐pull’. A safety‐pull is defined as organisationally supported reflexivity in which technology innovators and frontline operators collaborate to consider the potential implications of adopting new technologies in HROs and the complex ways this change may impact human operators' work performance, often in risky and unanticipated ways. In contrast to accidents occurring solely as the result of individual operator error, analysing the safety‐pull provides a way to tease out the wide range of factors that can contribute to HRO failures and offers a new SST perspective through which to examine high‐risk operations.     

甲醇罐区消防及喷淋冷却水系统的设计优化

为加强消防系统的安全性和实用性,实现甲醇罐区喷淋冷却水的节水回用,依据相关规范,从形式选择、设计计算、系统布置和操作控制等方面阐述了消防及冷却系统设计的优化方法。根据点火源模型的计算结果,提出甲醇罐区泡沫消防管道设计宜采取分散布置,替代原来集中布置的敷设形式,优化后夏季喷淋冷却系统的水回用率达到了98.25%。通过优化,降低了储罐事故状态下热辐射对相邻泡沫管道的影响程度,减少了消防车械的拥堵状况,提高了消防精度。此外,循环夏季喷淋冷却系统还有效减少了企业污水的排放量,人工操作量小,实现了较为智能的冷却水回用功能。