Reliability of equipment is so related to safety. It is very clear explained by Joel Levitt in his article at UPTIME magazine edition August – September 2011. This Joel stated that there are four reasons reliability and EHS are related (Below is the four reasons):
Reason 1: Something was broken and had to be repaired. The breakdown caused the person to go into harm’s way. So, lack of reliability can cause death and injuries.
Equipment running as designed does not require people to enter a confined space, repair (and touch) exposed electrical wires, pressure test a generator, sit on top of a tank and weld, or even fall off of a ladder. How is reliability related to safety? Reliability removes risk from the equation, and the worker is not in harm’s way. If no one was welding above the tank, the explosion would not have happened; if there was no repair needed, no one would give been up on the ladder or on the roof.
A. Something breaks down and has to be repaired.
B. The breakdown causes a worker to be in harm’s way.
C. Reliable equipment does not require maintenance workers to be put into harm’s way.
D. The best solution to a hazard is to eliminate it.
Reason 2: Due to PM, the size and scope of repair is smaller, making for safer repairs.
The second part of the equation has been reported by Exxon-Mobil. They studied their maintenance-related accidents and found the following: “Accidents are 5 times more likely while working on breakdowns then they are while working on planned and scheduled corrective jobs.” High reliability implies an effective PM program that catches deterioration before it causes a failure. Since the asset is not yet broken, it is safer to work on.
A. PM activity catches deterioration early in the process before failure (and reliability is impacted).
B. At that point the repair is smaller, safer, and more manageable, resulting in fewer EHS incidents.
C. PM also gives managers more time to plan and deal with hazards.
Reason 3: Hazards are eliminated or mitigated
High reliability also implies that the maintenance planners have time to plan the job properly. One aspect of planning is to consider all the hazards and figure out and describe a way to accomplish the work safely. The job plan that an experienced planner develops will reflect the safe way to do the job. A planner should look at every job and see if any common hazards
are present. Hazards would include: airborne contaminants, falls from heights, slipping and tripping, falling objects, eye damage (particle, chemical, or flash), chemicals (ingestion, skin exposure, or breathing), asphyxiation, radioactive exposure, fire, explosion, electrocution, entrapment and crushing, and temperature stress. Every hazard identified is then eliminated (best option) or mitigated (second-best option). The safest plants are the ones where the safety of the workers is considered at every step in the job preparation process.
A. The planner plans the job to minimize downtime
B. The planner is specifically trained to look for hazards to safety, health, and environment.
C. Planners will mitigate or eliminate the hazard in the plan before the crew even leaves the shop.
D. The result is fewer EHS incidents and more reliable equipment.
Reason 4: Planned jobs allow fewer opportunities for the maintenance
worker to improvise.
Improvisation is statistically less safe than following the job plan with the correct tools and spares. One of the building blocks of a reliable culture is adequate maintenance planning. Without planning, the workers are forced to make do with what spares and tools they can find. To do their job, they may have to improvise to make things work. Improvisation might be great in the theater but can be deadly in maintenance. My guess is that the following worker was making do with an improvised support: Worker was performing maintenance on the back of a trash truck. The support gave way and the tailgate came down on the worker.
A. Improvisation is great in comedy.
B. Improvisation can be deadly in maintenance.
C. Adequate time for job planning means having the right tools, spares, equipment, skills, and drawings when the job starts.
D. The result is fewer EHS incidents and better reliability.
Reliability is the outcome of this intentional maintenance environment and is essential for a safe environment.
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