Unit 2c Overview of Safe Operating Procedures PDF

Unit 2 c: Overview of Safe Operating Procedures at Workplace __________________________________________________ Lecture Objectives i. Permits to work requirement- examples of jobs requiring ii. Certificate vs. Permit to work iii. Example of job- Confined Space Entry-definition, regulati...

Unit 2 c: Overview of Safe Operating Procedures at Workplace __________________________________________________ Lecture Objectives i. Permits to work requirement- examples of jobs requiring ii. Certificate vs. Permit to work iii. Example of job- Confined Space Entry-definition, regulations, procedures for confined space, hot work ,excavations ________________________________________________________________________________ Permits to work Introduction Safe systems of work are crucial in work such as the maintenance of chemical plant where the potential risks are high and the careful coordination of activities and precautions is essential to safe working. In this situation and others of similar risk potential, the safe system of work is likely to take the form of a permit- to-work procedure. The permit-to-work procedure is a specialized type of safe system of work for ensuring that potentially very dangerous work (e.g. entry into process plant and other confined spaces) is done safely. Although this procedure has been developed and refined by the chemical industry, the principles of the permit-to-work procedure are equally applicable to the management of complex risks in other industries. The fundamental principle is that certain defined operations are prohibited without the specific permission of a responsible manager, this permission being only granted once stringent checks have been made to ensure that all necessary precautions have been taken and that it is safe for work to go ahead. The people doing the work take on responsibility for following and maintaining the safeguards set out in the permit, which will define the work to be done (no other work being permitted) and the timescale in which it must be carried out. To be effective, the permit system requires the training needs of those involved be identifying and meeting, and that monitoring procedures ensure that the system is operating as intended. HSEV 1005 – Introduction to Health, Safety & Environment Unit 2 c– Overview of safe operating procedures Amna S Imamshah 1  Types of Permits The following permit systems are the most common in the industry: 1. Confined space entry 2. The control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout) 3. Hot work 4. Opening or blinding Permits 5. Routine Maintenance Permits Hot Work Permits Hot work Permit – any maintenance procedure that produces a spark or excessive heat or requires welding and burning. The purpose of a hot work permit is to protect personnel and equipment from explosions and fires that might occur from hot work performed in an operational area. Examples of hot work include portable grinders, open fires, welding equipment, energized electrical circuits, internal combustion engines, electric motors, hot plates, turbine meters and soldering irons. One large chemical processing company involves the following people during the issue of a hot work permit: HSEV 1005 – Introduction to Health, Safety & Environment Unit 2 c– Overview of safe operating procedures Amna S Imamshah 2   Process technician/operator – inspects area and ensures good housekeeping, blinds, isolates and clears equipment, vessels, tanks and piping, immobilizes power driven equipment (lockout/tagout), determines PPE required, fills out the permit, and posts it at the job site.  Process supervisor – delegates responsibilities to the process technician and ensures that all established procedures are completed.  Maintenance supervisor – inspects area and ensures that it is ready for safety inspector, ensures that equipment, vessels, and piping are cleared ensures that safety equipment is located near job site, reviews procedure with person performing the work, confirms PPE required, and signs permit.  Person performing the work- inspects the job site; gathers information from process representative and mechanical supervisor about potential hazards, special procedures, or conditions; and selects and dons appropriate safety equipment before beginning work.  Safety permit inspector – inspects area and ensures that it is safe; performs gas test and determines oxygen level; ensures that equipment, vessels, and piping are cleared; confirms required PPE; signs permit; and sets time limit. This function is performed by process technicians at many locations.  Standby – stays in the work area and ensures that the person performing the work is safe, wears PPE required to perform the job, warns the person performing the work if a hazardous condition develops, and calls for help if needed. The hot work permit must be filled out and signed before a safety inspector is called to review it and the work area. When the system is ready, the mechanical supervisor and safety inspector will show up to inspect the area. Chemical concentrations and potential hazards are assessed. The need for a standby will be determined by the mechanical supervisor and the operator. If everything is in order, the safety inspector will sign and post the permit and the work can be started. The permit must be displayed at the work site until the hot work operation is complete. The hot permit must indicate: 1. That fire prevention and protection measures were in place before the hot work was initiated. 2. The date(s) for which the permit is approved. 3. The location and equipment used where hot work is performed. That a fire watch was posted and in place during procedure and 30 minutes after work was complete HSEV 1005 – Introduction to Health, Safety & Environment Unit 2 c– Overview of safe operating procedures Amna S Imamshah 3  Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) Energy isolation procedure, lock out/tag out – isolates potentially hazardous forms of energy; electricity, pressurized gases and liquids, gravity and spring tension. The most effective way to control hazardous energy is to put it under lock and key. The processing industry harnesses energy from seven basic forms: electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, compressed gases, liquids, gravity, and spring tension. Every year, industry record severe injuries because process employees fail to disconnect electrical equipment, dissipate residual energy, and restart equipment accidentally. The Lockout/Tagout procedure is as follows: 1. Preparation for shutdown of the equipment. During this phase, the type of energy being isolated must be identified and the specific hazards controlled. Authorized employees must prepare for shutdown by reviewing information such as the type and magnitude of the energy, controls and hazards. 2. Shutting down the equipment. 3. Isolation, which involves the closing of valves, shutting down main disconnects and circuit breakers, and disconnecting pneumatic, electric, hydraulic, and compressed gas and liquid lines. 4. Application of LOTO devices to breakers and disconnect switches, valves and energy isolating devices. HSEV 1005 – Introduction to Health, Safety & Environment Unit 2 c– Overview of safe operating procedures Amna S Imamshah 4  5. Control of stored energy takes place by relieving pressure, grounding cables connected, elevated equipment supported, and moving parts stopped. 6. Verification that all energy hazards have been locked out. The term lock-tag-try is applied when the electrically disconnected equipment is checked by attempting to start the equipment at the local start-stop switch. If the procedure has been performed correctly, the equipment will not start. Confined Spaces Confined space entry, permit to enter – designed to protect employees from oxygen deficient atmospheres, hazardous conditions, power- driven equipment, and toxic and flammable materials. Identifying Confined Spaces A confined space is any space that has the following characteristics: 1. It is large enough or so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work. 2. It has limited or restricted means for entry or exit. HSEV 1005 – Introduction to Health, Safety & Environment Unit 2 c– Overview of safe operating procedures Amna S Imamshah 5  3. It is not designed for continuous employee occupancy. A Non-Permit Confined Space is a confined space that does not contain, nor has the potential to contain, any hazard capable of causing death or serious physical harm. Examples of non- permit required confined spaces might include the interiors of HVAC units, certain air plenums and pipe chases, attics, walk-in freezers or refrigerators, and some building crawl spaces. A Permit-Required Confined Space is a confined space that is potentially hazardous. A permit- required confined space has one or more of the following characteristics: 1. Contains or has a potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere. 2. Contains a material that has the potential for engulfing an entrant. Engulfment means the surrounding and effective capture of a person by a liquid or finely divided (flowable) solid substance that can be aspirated (breathed in) to cause death by filling or plugging the respiratory system or that can exert enough force on the body to cause death by strangulation, constriction, or crushing. 3. Has an internal configuration such that an entrant could be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly-converging walls or by a floor that slopes downward and tapers to a smaller cross-section; or 4. Contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazard. Examples of serious safety or health hazards might include: o Fall hazards o Unguarded machinery o Extreme heat or cold o Steam pipes or chemical lines o Hazardous noise levels o Electrical hazards o Presence of asbestos o Potentially hazardous levels of dust (such as might occur at the Feed Mill) HSEV 1005 – Introduction to Health, Safety & Environment Unit 2 c– Overview of safe operating procedures Amna S Imamshah 6 Because of the lack of ventilation in most confined spaces, they will have the potential for a hazardous atmosphere. Therefore, they must be designated "permit-required," and the procedures for making entry into a permit-required space must be followed. Examples of permit-required confined spaces include sewers, electrical vaults, steam tunnels, sump pits, certain mechanical rooms, some excavations, and other types of enclosures.. Identifying Confined Space Hazards Once a space has been identified as confined, the hazards that may be present within the confined space must be identified. Confined-space hazards can be grouped into the following categories:  Oxygen-deficient atmospheres  Flammable atmospheres  Toxic atmospheres  Mechanical and physical hazards Every confined space must be evaluated for these four types of hazards. The three types of atmospheric hazards are often the most difficult to identify since they might not be detected without the assistance of a gas monitor. CONFINED SPACE TEAM Safe work in a confined space requires teamwork. The confined space entry team is made up of the entry supervisor, the attendant, the entrant, and the rescue team. Entry Supervisor An entry supervisor is responsible to coordinate all activities related to the CS before issuing a CSE permit. They plan the entry and develop rescue plans. They check the LEL or toxic components of the confined space and the list of all LOTO items and signatures. They also assign the hole watch and entry workers. Entrant Confined space training is required for authorized entrants. They must be familiar with the space and its hazards, and they should be able to detect warning signs of over-exposure. HSEV 1005 – Introduction to Health, Safety & Environment Unit 2 c– Overview of safe operating procedures Amna S Imamshah 7 Attendant The attendant (also called buddy and hole watch) has the primary responsibility of monitoring the safety of persons working in the CS. They review the permit before any entry and keep unauthorized personnel out of the area. They ensure ventilation equipment is working and tend the lifeline of the entrant. The attendant does not perform any rescue function; they monitor the CS worker by radio or voice and summon help, if needed. Emergency Rescue Services Generally, plant rescue personnel or outside contractors are selected in advance and are made aware of the hazards of the CS. They should be given all the pertinent information: location, name of vessel, permit procedures, list of hazardous chemicals, MSDS, etc. Opening or Blinding Permits Opening or blinding permit – removing blinds, installing blinds, or opening vessels, lines and equipment. Blinding involves disconnecting a pipe and attaching a physical barrier to its end so that materials are prevented from flowing out of the pipe. Unplugging permit – barricades area, clears lines for unplugging, informs personnel, issues opening blinding permit and issues unplugging permit. The purpose of the opening or blinding permit is to limit accidents through improved communications and structured guidelines for removing blinds, installing blinds, or opening vessels, lines, and equipment. Examples of work covered under opening and blinding permits include the installation and removal of blinds, removal of hatch covers, and opening equipment. HSEV 1005 – Introduction to Health, Safety & Environment Unit 2 c– Overview of safe operating procedures Amna S Imamshah 8 To initiate an opening or blinding permit, the process operator performs a safety inspection, secures the area for work, isolates the equipment, and fills out the opening and blinding permit. After the permit is filled out, the operator speaks to the craftsperson about the work being performed, reviews the hazards, and hangs a hard copy of the permit near the unit with the craftsperson`s signature. Routine Maintenance Permits Routine maintenance permit – general maintenance and mechanical work that does not include hot work or opening a vessel. The routine maintenance permit system is designed to prevent accidents by improving communications between process technicians and the mechanical craftsperson doing the mechanical work. In order to issue the routine maintenance permit, the technician is required to check out the area where the work will be performed. Safety hazards must be identified and the permit displayed near the work site. The soft copy of the permit is hung near the job site. Both the process technician and the craftsperson sign the permit. Questions 1) List four types of permit. 2) What is the purpose of having a fire watch? 3) Explain the purpose of the lockout/tag out permit. 4) Define what a confined space is. 5) Describe two symptoms of a 16% oxygen level. 6) Describe the key points associated with preparing a hot work permit. 7) Explain the hazards associated with confined space entry. 8) Define the term “inerting”. HSEV 1005 – Introduction to Health, Safety & Environment Unit 2 c– Overview of safe operating procedures Amna S Imamshah 9