Preventing external domino accidents: A framework for enhancing cooperation in the Chemical Process Industry (CPI)

Empirical research on major accident safety in the second largest chemical cluster worldwide, the Antwerp port area, supports the design of a meta-technical framework for optimizing external domino prevention. First, the majority of Seveso top tier companies have expressed a willingness to cooperate more intensively to protect themselves against potential off-site major accidents. Second, Hazop What-if analysis and the Risk Matrix are interesting building blocks for such a framework and are frequently used risk analysis techniques at Seveso lower tier and Seveso top tier companies. The developed framework, called Hazwim, integrates these three complementary techniques into an effective standardized risk analysis framework for the prevention of external domino accidents in an industrial area. The main strengths of Hazwim are its completeness and its cost-effectiveness. The combination of techniques on the one hand and qualitative and quantitative data on the other, offers a comprehensive up-to-date list of cross-company domino hazards and recommended actions in the area under consideration. The Hazwim framework offers support to prevention managers and safety policy makers concerning external domino prevention

A multi-objective robust optimization model for logistics planning in the earthquake response phase

Usually, resources are short in supply when earthquakes occur. In such emergency situations, disaster relief organizations must use these scarce resources efficiently to achieve the best possible emergency relief. This paper therefore proposes a multi-objective, multi-mode, multi-commodity, and multi-period stochastic model to manage the logistics of both commodities and injured people in the earthquake response. Also, a robust approach is developed and used to make sure that the distribution plan performs well under the various situations that can follow an earthquake. Afterwards, it proposes a solution methodology according to hierarchical objective functions and uses it to illustrate the customized robust modeling approach. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd

New heuristics for the fleet size and mix vehicle routing problem with time windows

In the Fleet Size and Mix Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (FSMVRPTW) customers need to be serviced in their time windows at minimal costs by a heterogeneous fleet. In this paper new heuristics for the FSMVRPTW are developed. The performance of the heuristics is shown to be significantly higher than that of any previous heuristic approach and therefore likely to achieve better solutions to practical routing problems

A multi-attribute systemic risk index for comparing and prioritizing chemical industrial areas

Measures taken to decrease interdependent risks within chemical industrial areas should be based on quantitative data from a holistic (cluster-based) point of view. Therefore, this paper examines the typology of networks representing industrial areas to formulate recommendations to more effectively protect a chemical cluster against existing systemic risks. Chemical industrial areas are modeled as two distinct complex networks and are prioritized by computing two sub-indices with respect to existing systemic safety and security risks (using Domino Danger Units) and supply chain risks (using units from an ordinal expert scale). Subsequently, a Systemic Risk Index for the industrial area is determined employing the Borda algorithm, whereby the systemic risk index considers both a safety and security network risk index and a supply chain network risk index. The developed method allows decreasing systemic risks within chemical industrial areas from a holistic (inter-organizational and/or inter-cluster) perspective. An illustrative example is given. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

An upper bound on the cycle time of a stochastic marked graph using incomplete information on the transition firing time distributions

Stochastic marked graphs, a special class of stochastic timed Petri nets, are used for modelling and analyzing decision-free dynamic systems with uncertainties in timing. The model allows evaluating the performance of such systems under a cyclic process. Given the probabilistic characteristics of the transition times, the cycle time of the system can be determined from the initial marking. In this contribution, we compute an upper bound on the cycle time of a stochastic marked graph in case the probabilistic characteristics of the transition times are not fully specified

Designing continuous safety improvement within chemical industrial areas

This article provides support in organizing and implementing novel concepts for enhancing safety on a cluster level of chemical plants. The paper elaborates the requirements for integrating Safety Management Systems of chemical plants situated within a so-called chemical cluster. Recommendations of existing Plant Safety Management System Codes of Good Practice are analyzed in relation to the needs of cluster chemical safety. The paper establishes comprehensive guidelines for gradually standardizing Plant Safety Management Systems through the design, the development and the installation of a Cluster Safety Management System within a group of chemical companies. A cluster organization framework is proposed and a scheme for continuously improving cluster and plant safety management via communication and cooperation at plant department level as well as at cluster level is suggested