· Major accident hazards should be actively managed to allow control and reduction of risks. Control of major accident hazards requires a specific focus on process safety management over and above conventional safety management.
· Specific consideration should be given to adopting robust “management of change” procedures with all changes – including organisational changes – being fully evaluated before implementation to ensure that all potential hazards associated with the change have been identified.
· Avoiding a loss of containment is important not only for pressure vessels and other large items of plant and equipment but also for the pipework systems which are often not subjected to the same rigorous levels of inspection and maintenance. A reduction in the number of flanges, the removal of dead-legs, a reduction in vibration and the correct securing and supporting of pipework systems can reduce the likelihood of a loss of containment and hence the probability of a major accident occurring.
· Companies should develop key performance indicators (KPI's) for major hazards and ensure process safety performance is monitored and reported against these parameters.
o Conventional indicators of safety performance such as “days away from work” (which are high frequency/low consequence events) do not give a measure of process safety relevant to the control of major accidents (which are low frequency/high consequence events) and may give a false impression of process safety performance.
o Companies should benchmark their performance in relation to the control of major accident hazards against industry standards
Disruption to utility supply systems (steam, electricity etc.) on a major hazard site can cause significant problems and have the potential to result in a major accident