The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNSDR) names technical safety systems as technological or industrial hazards and risks originating from accidents, dangerous procedures, failures in infrastructure, and human failures, such as – nuclear radiation, industrial pollution, toxic wastes, structural failures, mines failure, transportation accidents, industrial and technological accidents, whether fires, explosions, and chemical spills. Technical Safety can therefore be described as sets of elements used in risk analysis and management to identify, understand and evaluate risks and specify solutions that reduce risk levels as-low-as-reasonably-practicable. Process safety focuses on the operational aspects of Technical safety, hence Process Safety is a specialized framework for managing the integrity of systems and processes that handles hazardous substances. Technical safety is applied in the identification, analysis, and evaluation of risks with the provision of engineered solutions to technical processes, procedures, and systems.
Safety revolves around the integrity of human factors (self-safety), integrity of job factors (processes and procedures), and integrity of instrumentation and environmental factors (machines, equipment, devices, and plants). Some well-known forms of Technical safety in practice today include, but are not limited to the following.
- Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability Studies (RAMS).
- Value Improvement Engineering.
- Engineering Safety Studies – Engineering safety factors, circulation, environmental, process safety (operational), constructability, and economic studies.
- Building Risk Assessments – Structural risk, fire risk, thermal risk, explosion risk, chemical risk, and air quality.
- Risk Assessments: Qualitative Risk Assessments including – Hazard Identification (HAZID), Hazard Analysis (HAZAN), Hazard and Operability (HAZOP), Bow Tie Analysis, and Process Hazard Analysis (PHA). Quantitative Risk Assessments (QRA), Generic Risk Assessments, Dynamic Risk Assessments, and Site Specific Risk Assessments.
- Escape, Evacuation, and Rescue Analysis (EERA).
- Fire and Explosion Risk Analysis (FERA).
- Simultaneous Operations (SIMOPs) Studies.
- Human Factor Analysis (task analysis, potential consequences, error guide-words, and performance influencing factors).
- Root Cause Analysis (RCA) – 5 Whys, Fault Tree, Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), Pareto Charts, Define, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC) and Ishikawa Fishbone Diagram (Material, Method, Machine, Measurement/Medium, and Man/Mind Power).
- Dropped Object Study.
What is the importance of Technical Safety? Among other benefits, are: Life-saving, prevention of injuries, seamless operational activities, reduction of loss of time due to delays, reputational risks are reduced, avoidance of legal risks, prevention of asset loss or damage, and reduction of financial loss in technical operations.
Technical safety is a life-saving measure as conditions that could lead to fatality are earlier identified, evaluated, and better managed in technical operations.
Injuries to asset workers or users are detected and managed when a safety system is implemented in the industries as systems for planning, monitoring, and control of safety-related matters are structured into technical safety frameworks.
Technical safety improves operational activities by means of frameworks to ensure seamless processes and procedures with non-interruption or minimal interruptions to operational activities.
Technical safety reduces delays due to loss of time due to incidents caused by a failure in safety systems in industries. It could be a shutdown of business activity or delays in the delivery of products and services, which leads to dissatisfaction among stakeholders and leads to reputational risks.
Reputational risks may be reduced to as low as reasonably practicable when good technical safety solutions are implemented in a production system with possible goodwill earned.
Technical safety mitigates legal risks that could arise as a result of judicial litigation and processes and consequences or remedies due to any damages or breaches caused by gaps in safety implementation.
Technical safety reduces the loss of assets due to damage caused by failures in design, materials, construction, or installation and usage of such assets.
Technical safety mitigates financial losses incurable when there is failure in operational processes and procedures, which leads to low productivity. Insurance premiums are reduced with lower risks in technical operational systems.
The standards listed below are very valuable for the purpose of technical safety. This is not limited to the list below as other specialized sectors have provisions to guide in their technical aspects of safety.
- IEC 61508, The International Standard for Functional Safety for Electrical, Electronic and Programmable Electronic Safety-Related Systems.
- ISO 31000, Risk Management.
- ISO 27005, Information Technology – Security Techniques – Information Security Risk Management.
- ISO 26262, Road Vehicles – Functional Safety.
- NFPA 551, Guide for the Evaluation of Fire Risk Assessments.
- NFPA 704: Standard System f,r the Identification of the Hazards of Materials for Emergency Response.
- NFPA 122, Standard for Fire Prevention and Control in Metal/Non-metal Mining and Metal Mineral Processing Facilities.
- NFPA 121: Standard on Fire Protection for Self-Propelled and Mobile Surface Mining Equipment,
- ISO 27001 (Risk Assessments) are standards for use in implementing Technical Safety.
It is highly recommended that technical safety be considered as a must in the technical operations in the manufacturing, oil and gas, energy, construction, mining, transportation, agriculture, health, engineering services and related sectors in the design, construction, installation, maintenance operations, procedures, and processes.
Author: William Nwaogu (Technical Advisor)
Safety Consultants & Solution Providers Limited
