Safety Articles


Overview of Loss Prevention Principles and Practices

By Jitu C. Patel, CPEA - pateljc2002@yahoo.com

Editor’s Note: This article is a follow up of the “Basics of Loss Prevention” and details approaches to loss prevention that may be adopted by any industry. It discusses the major elements and methodology of the overall Loss Prevention Program: Policy Declaration, Training, Work Permit Procedures, Safety Inspections, Predictive Maintenance Inspection, Safety Meetings, Safety Talks, Safety Suggestions, Loss Prevention Compliance Reviews, Executive Management Safety Reviews, Safe Operations Committee, Contractor Safety Program, Non-Operating Personnel Safety Orientation, Fire/Emergency Drills, Disaster Control Plan, Employee Incentive Program, Off-The-Job Safety, Traffic Safety, Accountability and Job Placement.

POLICY DECLARATIONS: It is important that the highest authority and the management of the Corporation consider no phase of Operation or Administration as being of greater importance than that of Accident Prevention. It should be the policy of management to provide and maintain safe, healthful working environment and efficient operations. A policy declaration is displayed for the knowledge of employees and that its implementation is ensured by the Management.

TRAINING: Second most important element is the Safety Training of all personnel. New employees assigned to work including clerical staff are given an orientation to general activities of the industry with emphasis on Loss Prevention. As a part of this program, they should receive training on First Aid/CPR, fire fighting, use of PPE’s, handling of hazardous chemicals, and permit to work procedures. Over and above the normal work related training, regular employees should also be given refresher safety training on a frequent set scheduled basis.

PERMIT TO WORK PROCEDURES: Management should have the certification program for employees to issue and receive permits to work for safe execution of tasks to be performed by other than normal operating personnel within the defined hazardous areas. To ensure integrity of the certification program, safety professionals should review the program periodically. Generally, industries have permit to work system for hot and cold works and also for allowing entry into confined space. Other permits include precautionary permits where potential may exist for an accidental release of hazardous materials during the course of activity. There should be special permits for excavation, and for higher elevation or under water tasks. Compliance of permit to work must be monitored for its integrity by performing in-field spot checks by Safety specialists.

SAFETY INSPECTIONS: Over and above all daily, weekly and monthly work level inspections, industry should make a commitment that operating facility/plants, maintenance shops, offices, construction sites and other work places be inspected as random checks by the Management at least once every quarter. A typical safety inspection team should consist of members from Operations, Maintenance, Process Engineering, Safety and Fire Protection. The team should review procedures and related records and conduct walk through inspections of the facility to not only verify satisfactory completion of previous items but also to note other additional observations. The findings should be discussed at a subsequent critique meeting and consolidated in a report form for the required corrective actions. Similar frequent, at least once per quarter, safety inspections should also be conducted on maintenance and construction site facilities with appropriate specialists as team members.

PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE INSPECTIONS: There are many types of inspections. For example; Planned Inspections, which are systematic searches to follow up on known problems and to identify new ones. Managers do these inspections to focus on program management problems. Informal Inspections are done Daily by every one. Some other inspections are - Supervisor’s General Inspections, Superintendent or Manager’s Quarterly Inspections, Fire & Safety Tours by the corporate Executives, Pre-Use Equipment Inspections, Follow-up inspections and Critical Item Inspections by specialists focusing on items most likely to fail & cause accidents. Some special inspections, certifications and predictive maintenance programs that have proved beneficial in process industries are:

SAFETY MEETINGS: Safety meetings are considered vital in communicating Safety topics, motivating employees and acknowledging contributions in the Safety Program. Organize a safety meeting at least once in two months for facility/Plant Operation Supervisors and Lead Operators. Various issues related to operation’s safety, observations during plant safety inspections and near misses & incidents having lesson learning potentials, should be discussed during these meetings. Due to the nature of work, often the maintenance employees are exposed to unsafe conditions or commit unsafe acts. Maintenance Department therefore should organize safety meetings, preferably at least once every two weeks.

SAFETY TALKS: Frequent safety talks should be conducted. Management should recognize the best safety talks delivered. Discussions on related Operating Instructions as well as recently occurred on- or off-the-job incidents or accidents involving injuries or losses should be included as safety talks. The inmate discussion concept is the effective way to educate and update employees with relevant information.

SAFETY SUGGESTION PROGRAM: A Safety Suggestion Program encourages employee involvement in Loss Prevention. Employees whose suggestions are accepted by the management should be recognized for their contributions. Implementation of accepted safety suggestions should receive a greater prioritized attention for early benefits. History shows that the implementation of many of these first hand practical suggestions have resulted significant improvement in the facility/plant and personal safety.

LOSS PREVENTION COMPLIANCE REVIEWS: Corporate level Loss Prevention Compliance Reviews of the facility should be performed to monitor adherence with industry practices and Company Safety policy. These independent reviews provide Objective feedback on the effectiveness of the Loss Prevention Program. The team should include Operations, Maintenance & Engineering representatives and expertise from Electrical &/or Instrumentation, Rotating Equipment, On-stream Inspector, Crane & Heavy Equipment Inspector, Loss & Fire Prevention Engineer and Industrial Hygiene, Health & Environment specialist. Compliance Review should include; On-Site soft ware procedures, practices & records Review, Interviews of Managers, Superintendents & Employees with appropriate Questionnaires and walk through reviews of facility hard ware and reporting of the team’s findings and Follow-up on the action plans.

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT SAFETY REVIEWS: It is a good industry practice to conduct an overall safety review of the facility by Corporate Executive Management at least once a year. Participants should review implementation of all items reported during the previous tour. They should also review new constructions and modifications to equipment in respect of loss prevention factors. These Executives should allow time for presentations on items requiring capital budgetary approval that could improve process safety and personnel safety.

SAFE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE: Safe Operations Committee (SOC) should be chartered to evaluate the Loss Prevention Program and recommend ways and means for improvement. Key issues addressed in such committees are analysis of deficiencies, effectiveness of programs, compliance with Corporate general and engineering standards, review and follow up of corrective actions taken on safety problems identified by various reviews. Employee involvement in on- or off-the-job activities should also be discussed in these meetings. The Committee should give a greater importance in reviewing the incidents, accidents & near misses for lesson learning potentials. The SOC Team should include Department Head as Chairperson, Division Heads of Operations, Maintenance & Engineering organizations, Safety Specialist, Senior Fire Protection Officer, Training Officer, and a Specialist to assist in specific safety issues. The SOC should address a Follow-up on Safety Problems identified by Inspections, Investigations, Compliance Reviews and Hazard Reports. Review Basic Causes of cited deficiencies, conduct Trend Analysis of deficiencies in programs, standards or compliance, Review Status of Safety Action items, Review Priority levels given to Safety items, Recognize Deserving employees, Review Disciplinary Actions, and, Examine Program changes and aid their development & implementation. The SOC should distribute minutes immediately after the meeting identifying key points of discussions & conclusions with specific task assignments and dates of their expected completion.

CONTRACTOR SAFETY PROGRAM: Next important element of the program is the Contractor Safety Program. A special care and attention should be given to activities performed by the contractors. Safe execution of any tasks within the process facility is the sole responsibility of the proponent management regardless of contractor involvement. Readers are reminded that a few years ago, two major chemicals & Petroleum corporations were fined severely by the Texas court for blaming contractors performing maintenance work in their premises that caused multiple fatality and property damage. Proponents must ensure that the contractors have a good workable safety program that is well communicated and is fully implemented. The program should assure that contractors meet their responsibilities to protect personnel, equipment and facility/plant. At the end, an evaluation report should be prepared for future reference to determine whether the contractor is worthy of being considered again. Loss prevention Specifications, Fire & Safety Reviews in Project Planning, Pre-Construction Conferences and Monitoring Contractor’s Safety Performance during construction, are the most essential parts of the Program.

Program requirements, Systems & Materials Hazards, Unusual hazards of the Contract work should be highlighted at a Bidding Stage. Furthermore, at a Pre-construction Stage, a Hazard Identification Tour and Pre-construction conference should also be held. When you reach to a Construction Stage, movements of contractors & suppliers vehicles through work areas, Contractor workers in work areas, Connections to energy systems, Temporary structures, Scrap, waste, excess materials, Interface with emergency preparedness & company rules, and, Use of equipment, tools, materials, should be closely monitored. Finally, at a Close-off Stage, Clean up of construction materials, Restoration of facilities and grounds, Return of tools and materials, Mechanical completion certificates, and, Safe Operating Instructions for new or modified plants or systems, must be ensured.

NON-OPERATING PERSONNEL SAFETY ORIENTATION: It is important that the company Management recognizes the hazards and the needs of non-operating personnel who are not familiar with the facility/process plant and the procedures to follow in case of emergency. Safety awareness presentations therefore should be made on all potential hazards, permit to work system, and, general functional and emergency evacuation procedural requirements in the facility.

FIRE/EMERGENCY DRILLS: In industry, announced and unannounced Emergency Drills have been found of great value to tune employees to face any real in-plant emergencies. Emergency Preparedness helps minimize losses, ensures proper investigation and returns to safe operations quickly. A written scenario should be prepared for each drill that sufficiently describes the role of operating personnel, location and magnitude of fire or emergency, equipment affected, source of a release, direction of flow, and so on. Representatives from Operations, Maintenance and Process Engineering, Fire Protection and Loss Prevention should review these drills. Observations should be critiqued to evaluate opportunities for improvement. Emergency actions are best performed by trained groups such as Evacuation & Rescue teams, Medical, Security, Communication, Utilities control, Fire protection, Transportation, Food services, Sanitation, Public Relations, Salvage, repair, and, Investigation teams.

DISASTER CONTROL PLAN: Every organization should develop a Disaster Control Plan that should define the procedures for obtaining assistance from within or outside the company during disasters and detail the functions of essential personnel assigned to control the disaster. At least two drills per annum, one preferably unannounced, are recommended to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan and readiness of the people.

INCENTIVE PROGRAMS: Organizations should develop good safety promotional incentive programs such as safety competitions of employees and also for the contracting firms who may be involved in major construction or maintenance or repair jobs. Employee’s individual and team performance should be recognized by the company to encourage and motivate employees to think and execute safety at all times and reduce losses that could occur due to injury or property damage or production upsets. Incentives include Group Recognition, Individual Recognition, Safety Awareness, Safety Bulletin Boards, Special Loss Prevention Displays, Bulletins & Publications, and the Use of Program Statistics & Facts in Safety Education & Awareness Activities, and, Employee Safety & Other Suggestions.

OFF-THE-JOB SAFETY: Off the Job Safety is very important part of the Loss Prevention Program. It should identify Off-the-Job Loss Exposures such as Home Safety, Recreation Safety, and Driving Safety.

TRAFFIC SAFETY: The top most important element of the Loss Prevention Program is Traffic Safety because almost 50,000 lives are lost and over 2.5m people receive disabling injuries each year costing billions of dollars. Typically, on an average, daily 90,000 accidents occur in the US resulting in to 53,000 Claims, 6,300 Disabling Injuries, 120 Deaths that Cost To Society $467m i.e. nearly $170b per year. Traffic Safety should consist of vehicle selection & operation, vehicle inspection & maintenance, driver selection, training & qualifications and driver improvement.

ACCOUNTABILITY: A good Accountability Program can help ensure that priority work is completed timely; prevent duplication or repetition of work done. Documents of work done help analyze problems, aid defense against claims, provide information for proper recognition of personal efforts and share information to enhance Loss Prevention.

JOB PLACEMENT: Ensure Pre-Employment Medical Exam is done of new or transferred employees, identify job requirements that have personal health factors, request medical surveys of work places suspected to have potential for health problems, and, set up personal health monitoring for people with pre-existing potential medical problems.

SUMMARY: Loss Prevention program outlined in this article has proved successful in producing favorable results in the field of Accident Prevention. Many industries worldwide have achieved a credible performance in safety through clearly defined responsibilities, active employee training, good record keeping and meaningful reporting. Such corporations have received recognition from NSC or GPA or OSHA. Credit for these significant achievements goes to the commitment and dedication of both the employees and the company management working closely with their safety professionals. The contents of this article are not limited to Process Industry but they have applicability also to construction, hotel or any other industry. If your work place has a good workable loss prevention program in place, consider this as a refresher. However, for those, who have bits & pieces of the program in place, they might like to consider including other applicable elements to avoid fatal and devastating losses. This article is an attempt to stress the importance of an effective loss prevention program and also for some “Food for thought” for Safety Professionals. These are some guidelines to help initially in developing programs to minimizing and subsequently to focus on eliminating losses with zero accident.

Develop Job Procedures to help prevent losses where engineering controls are not possible or practical. Develop safe work practices where step-by-step procedure is not appropriate. Develop general safety rules for common exposures where other accident controls are not practical. Promote compliance with operating procedure, instructions, practices and rules by education & enforcement. For effective safe job performance: Develop Job Procedure as the facility is developed. Ensure Job Procedures written for High Risk jobs are easily understood and cannot be misinterpreted. Train each employee in the critical job procedures he/she will use.

Editor’s Note: Mr. Jitu C. Patel, CPEA, is a member of the ASSE Arizona Chapter and serving the Chapter as a Senior Board Advisor. He is an international safety consultant who has a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and a master’s in Fuel Science. For 21 years, Mr. Patel has provided health and safety professional services to Aramco, the oil and gas producing and processing corporation in Saudi Arabia. He also has provided technical training and conducted research for 15 years on the topics of fires, explosions, and health and environment safety issues at a heavy chemical manufacturing company owned by U.K. oil companies. Mr. Patel has prepared safety audit reports and has developed and conducted fire and safety seminars for Safety & Fire Prevention engineers and line management staff of industry operations, maintenance and engineering organizations. He has prepared and presented many technical and safety presentations, as well has been published in several international publications. His work has taken him throughout the world serving on such boards and committees as: the Safe Operations and Laboratory Safety Committees at Associated Octel and Aramco; the Toxic & Flammable Gas Detector Sensor Development Committee of Users and Manufacturers at the SIRA Institute in the United Kingdom; the Steering/Organizing Committees for the fifth, sixth and seventh Professional Development Conferences organized by the ASSE Middle East Chapter in Bahrain; and the International Advisory Committee of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy 20th Anniversary Process Safety Conference organized by the Indian Institute of Technology.