Critical success factors of risk-based inspection

Risk-based inspection (RBI) is a tool which helps ensure safe and economically viable operation. To benefit from an RBI system, the factors that affect its implementation need to be studied. This research focuses on identifying and ranking the critical success factors (CSFs) of RBI. Based on the literature review of RBI, an initial list of 28 potential CSFs was identified and complied. These CSFs were then grouped into eight factor headings according to RBI/RBM, RBIM and risk assessment process. A survey was conducted to assess and prioritizes the degree of influence of those success factors on RBI systems, while determining whether these CSFs do indeed play a critical role in the successful implementation of RBI systems as perceived by the respondents. Samples were collected to confirm the identified CSFs. The findings show that the most influential factor is “Data Collection,” and while “RBI Estimation” is the most critical factor heading in the implementation of RBI. Additionally, the findings also show that all CSFs identified are critical and relevant for Malaysian industries. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Process Saf Prog 38: 4–20, 2019. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineer

Safety culture level among workers in the selected manufacturing plant

Workers in the manufacturing industry face many safety risks due to the nature of the job. The state of safety and health performance determine by examining the safety climate factors which reflects workers' perception of the psychological aspect in safety culture domain. This study aimed to assess the safety culture level and its contributing factor to the safety culture in a selected chemical manufacturing plant. Survey data was collected from 309 employees in a factory located in Kuantan Pahang. They were randomly selected and represent two groups, namely executive and technician. A standardized climate questionnaire was used and answered by the respondents within 20 to 30 minutes. Sixty-five percent of the total respondents agree that the safety culture level at their workplace is high, and another 35% revealed that it is moderate. Perceived safety climate and personal attitude among two groups employee were compared using an Independent Sample t-test. Results revealed a significant difference between groups (t=7.428, P=0.007) for management commitment, (t=6.133, P=0.014) for safety rules and procedures, (t=15.823, P=0.001) for supportive environment, (t=10.949, P=0.001) and lastly for physical work environment, (t=6.067, P=0.014). A Pearson correlation coefficient was computed to assess the relationship between safety culture factors and demographic information of the respondents. There was a positive correlation between safety rules and procedures and level of education, r = 0.135, p = 0.018, and Involvement and years of working experience, r = 0.165, p = 0.004. Increases in the level of education were found correlated with increases in perceived safety rules and procedures while increases of years of working experience was directly correlated with increases in involvement to safety in the organization

Developing a risk-based inspection practices maturity model for Malaysian industries

A framework was formulated based on the model of MIRM (2008) to measure the risk-based inspection (RBI) practices maturity level in the Malaysian RBI scheme users. The RBI Practices Maturity Model will assess the level of compliance and effectiveness with a recently introduced regulatory instrument for risk-based inspection practices. The developed model allowed for a ‘self-assessment’ of the maturity at RBI scheme users sites. The knowledge of the maturity level will be a point of departure to garner further improvements in RBI practices specifically and safety management system generally. Following a review of the safety culture literature, an audit instrument was designed to measure six aspects of risk-based inspection practices indicative of five levels of the RBI practices maturity. The reliability of the audit instrument was tested by applying the same question with a different approach which is selfassessment questionnaire and comparing the correlation coefficient results on each dimension between the two methods. Both correlation coefficients ranged from 0.7 to 0.9 thus demonstrating the good reliability of the measures used. The model has been found to be a practical and useful tool by RBI scheme users as a means of identifying strengths and weaknesses within the RBI practices

Safety climate factors at selected chemical manufacturing plant in Malaysia

Statistics in Malaysia show accident cases in the manufacturing industry is the highest as compared to another sector. The concept of safety climate gained interest in many industries as a means of reducing accident. This study assessed workers' perceptions toward safety climate factors, management commitment, communication, a priority of safety, safety rules procedures, social environment, supportive environment, involvement, personal priorities and need for safety, personal appreciation of risk, physical work environment, and lastly top management's commitment and priority. Safety Climate Assessment Toolkit and Zohar Safety Climate Questionnaires were used in this study. A cross-sectional sample of 309 workers participated. Lowest total mean score was for a personal appreciation of risk (M = 5.41, SD = 1.03), supportive environment (M = 6.61, SD = 0.82), and physical work environment (M = 6.74, SD = 1.24). There was a significant difference between production and nonproduction workers for their perceptions toward involvement in safety (Z = 15.579, P <.001). From the correlation test, age, gender, education level, shift work, and the group were significantly correlated with the nine dimensions of safety climate. Lastly, workers' perception of how management prioritized safety is generally good. A total mean score is (4.89) from the 16 items of Zohar safety climate questionnaire which covers declarative, proactive, and active practices of their management. © 2019 American Institute of Chemical Engineer

Safety climate factors at selected chemical manufacturing plant in Malaysia

Statistics in Malaysia show accident cases in the manufacturing industry is the highest as compared to another sector. The concept of safety climate gained interest in many industries as a means of reducing accident. This study assessed workers' perceptions toward safety climate factors, Management commitment, communication, a priority of safety, safety rules procedures, social environment, supportive environment, involvement, personal priorities and need for safety, personal appreciation of risk, physical work environment, and lastly top management's commitment and priority. Safety Climate Assessment Toolkit and Zohar Safety Climate Questionnaires were used in this study. A cross-sectional sample of 309 workers participated. Lowest total mean score was for a personal appreciation of risk (M = 5.41, SD = 1.03), supportive environment (M = 6.61, SD = 0.82), and physical work environment (M = 6.74, SD = 1.24). There was a significant difference between production and nonproduction workers for their perceptions toward involvement in safety (Z = 15.579, P < .001). From the correlation test, age, gender, education level, shift work, and the group were significantly correlated with the nine dimensions of safety climate. Lastly, workers' perception of how management prioritized safety is generally good. A total mean score is (4.89) from the 16 items of Zohar safety climate questionnaire which covers declarative, proactive, and active practices of their management

Hazards identification at bus interchanges in Kuala Lumpur

Bus is one of the main alternatives of mass public transportation in Kuala Lumpur as it is cheaper and has better coverage area than its counterparts such as Light Rapid Train (LRT) and commuter train. Thousands of people use the bus interchanges around Kuala Lumpur to reach their destinations. In this paper, hazards at these bus interchanges are identified to prevent or, at least to minimize the number of accidents that might occur as well as to reduce health problem. Five bus interchanges were selected for this research; the Hentian Puduraya, Klang Bus Stand, Hentian Putra, Mydin Bus Stand and Hentian Duta. The main objective of this research is to study the level of safety awareness among the management of the bus interchange and also the public. This research is conducted using several methods, which includes observation, checklist, questionnaire and interviews with safety personnel. From the result, it was found that most users of these bus interchanges are aware of safety aspects and this might be due to an increasing level of education. Hazards that might occur at these bus interchanges have also been identified and several suggestions to prevent or minimize these hazards have been made. © School of Engineering, Taylor's University College

The relationship of safety climate factors, decision making attitude, risk control, and risk estimate in Malaysian radiation facilities

Safety culture practices tend to strongly influence workers to control possible risk, make decision, and have a true perception on the risk despite the aim of encouraging safe work environment and reducing the numbers of human errors. The present study assessed the perceptions of the workers on nine safety culture practices as well as the individual risk estimate on the chemical and radiation hazard. In this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted among the workers of nuclear and radiation facilities in Malaysia. In this study, structural equation modelling (SEM) was utilised to analyse the relationship between the variables. The reliability and validity of the measured item was found to be acceptable. Meanwhile, the significant direct path of safety climate factors managed to be shown together with risk control measures, decision making attitude, and individual risk estimate. However, risk control measure and decision-making attitude did not mediate the relationship between safety climate factors and the risk estimate. On the other hand, priority to safety was identified as the most important factor that affects risk estimate, risk control measure, and decision-making attitude. This study also emphasized the requirement of communicative information which can be performed through information sharing, dissemination, and questioning mechanism. Overall, these findings manage to facilitate radiation stakeholders in developing the framework of safety culture practices as well as strengthening the safety management system

Determination of factors affecting safety practices in Malaysian radiation facilities

A substantial amount of research has delved into the nature of safety climate, and subsequently its importance as a leading indicator of safety performance. However, they have mostly been conducted in Western countries via high risk operations. Therefore, this study is focused on the exploratory factors of safety culture practice in the industrial context of Malaysian radiation facilities, specifically by determining the influencing factors, their dependency and significant difference in mean level. This is attempted by adopting and adapting the six-factor Malaysian Safety Tool Kit (MSTK) and the components of safety culture practice as suggested by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safety series as the Malaysian nuclear and radiation safety tool kit (MRSTK). The exploratory factor analysis representing the MSTK model is therefore partially replicated and applied in the Malaysian nuclear and radiation sector. An alternative nine-factor model has been developed, which consisted of 32 items encompassing these elements accordingly: questioning attitude, communicative information, work environment, management commitment, communication, safety priority, personal view, involvement and prudent approach. The resulting outcomes have displayed statistically significant mean difference among these factors and consequently remained consistent with common safety climate themes. Nevertheless, they have also demonstrated the need to factor in individual response and organization cultural factors in the development of safety climate models intended for usage in Malaysian radiation sector. Furthermore, these findings have also revealed implications regarding the transferability of safety climate models and the type of safety interventions in implementing Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) management strategies more efficiently

Effect of inhibitor gases on hydrogen flame propagation in a confined tee pipe (Part I)

Hydrogen is a promising fuel for the future. In recent years it has been successfully utilised in industries, particularly in refineries and petrochemicals. In previous studies, the effect of inhibitors on hydrogen explosion behaviour has been investigated in different systems, yet only scarce data are available. Therefore, experimental study is carried out to investigate the effects of argon, nitrogen and carbon dioxide on hydrogen/air explosion in a branched pipe configuration. The fuel/air mixtures were ignited at three different ignition positions, A, B and D. The results show that, when ignited at the furthest distance (position A), the tee junction area is most vulnerable to the critical pressure impact of gas explosion. However, no similar trend was observed at the other ignition positions. In addition, mixtures with the compositions 95% H-2-2.5% Ar-2.5% N-2/air, 95% H-2-5% N-2/air, H-2/air and 95% H-2-5% Ar/air showed higher risks due to the higher diffusivity ratio and the associated rate of pressure rise. This phenomenon is highlighted in the discussion part of this paper. The results show that mixtures with CO2 lead to lower severity than other compositions (similar to 50% reduction), as the average recorded maximum flame speed for this particular mixture was lower at all of the ignition points. This suggests that the effectiveness of the inhibitors should be in the order of Ar < N-2 < CO2