Social HAZOP at an Oil Refinery

CATEGORY: SAFETY
Process Safety Progress, Volume 32, Issue 1, pages 17–21, March 2013, DOI: 10.1002/prs.11552
Social HAZOP at an Oil Refinery
S.F. Ávila 1, F.L.P. Pessoa 2, J.C.S. Andrade 3
avilasalva@gmail.com
1 Federal University of Bahia, Industrial Engineering Program
2 Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Chemical School
3 Federal University of Bahia, Administration School
Abstract
Several tools are used in the maintenance of process safety in industry [e.g., Preliminary Risk Analysis (PRA) and Hazards Operation Assessment (HAZOP)]. Each tool or technique can prevent hazards from becoming accidents through project improvements and managerial decisions. The project of equipment and process of chemical industries include technical specifications that work better if human behavior in operation has a pattern without great variations.
The HAZOP study only indicates the top human errors in control process activities. It does not discuss memory mistakes and lack of adherence to rules which result in the wrong decision. The Social HAZOP (SH) discusses cognitive processing and the commitment level of the operator in task execution.
The SH includes these activities: building of team to investigate human error, identification of critical situations at process with integration with social/human aspects, establish social nodes, analysis of social/human factors, choose items after comparison of standards and subjective measurements, analysis of deviations from social and human processes, recommendations of the SH. An exercise of SH application was done involving level control at separation equipment in a refinery. The recommendations suggest actions in different levels (strategic, tactic, routine, and emergency) and different types (policies, team, managerial aspects, leadership, human and social aspects, stress process at job, risk management, and root cause
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