Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
SE - 1 - 3
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1
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INTRODUCTION
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There are a number of terms which are in common use in safety engineering and
which you will meet in this lesson. In everyday language many of these terms
are virtually synonymous (have the same meaning), but in the world of safety
engineering they have quite specific meanings. It is important that you are
familiar with these terms and understand their meanings when you meet them.
Try to memorize as many of these words as possible at this stage. To help you
to do this, there are some Self-Assessment Questions included in the body of
the lesson.
In the second part of this lesson we shall be examining one of these terms
"risk" in more detail.
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YOUR AIMS
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STUDY ADVICE
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NOTE: Terms in italics are defined more fully elsewhere in this glossary.
CONSEQUENCES
jet release
pinhole release.
failure mode
failsafe
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SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
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1. Match each term with one of the brief definitions given below.
2. Which of the following do you think best defines the term "risk" in an
industrial safety context:
3. Which of the following do you think best defines the term "loss
prevention":
(a) dispersion
(b) plume
(c) explosion
(d) safety audit
(e) criterion
(f) upper and lower flammability limits.
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1. A7 B8 C1 D6
E5 F4 G3 H2
2. (d)
3. (c)
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CATEGORIES OF RISK
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On page 3 we gave a brief definition of the term "risk". We will now look
more closely at the various categories of risk which could arise within an
engineering context.
RISKS TO LIFE
1. 'Ordinary' Risks
These are common to all plants and arise principally from human activity
on or around the plant. Examples include:
These risks are, of course, applicable only to plant personnel and not to
the general public.
2. 'Process' Risks
These vary from plant to plant, the main classes of risk being:
Thus, process risks can arise only in the event of loss of containment of
the plant inventory and the general public as well as plant personnel can
be at risk.
These risks, which are concerned with damage to the plant, or with plant
unavailability for other reasons, can also be conveniently classified into two
main groups.
The main risks falling into this category are some of the "process risks"
previously mentioned, which lead either to plant unavailability in their own
right (e.g. equipment rupture, fire, explosion) or to a plant shutdown pending
an enquiry (e.g. toxic release or other dangerous incidents).
Some of the "ordinary risks" to life previously mentioned may sometimes also
call for a plant shutdown pending investigations.
The risks falling into this category are purely operational risks such as
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SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
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(a) record the hazard, and action taken, in the plant records for
future reference
(ii) Now list the four actions above in what you consider to be a logical
order.
6. Categorize, as you see fit, the following events into the "risk table" or
matrix on page 21.
Your Answer
RISK
TO
LIFE
NO
RISK
TO LIFE
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5. (i) (c)
NO
RISK (j) (b) (g)
TO LIFE
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SUMMARY
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This lesson has covered the more important aspects of safety language, a vital
step towards avoiding misinterpretations and misunderstandings which are
themselves potential sources of hazards.
You have also now been introduced to the disciplined manner in which causes
and effects of deviant occurrences need to be handled, and the scope of these
risks which prevail within industrial activities.
We are now able to consider how human awareness and response to hazard
identification may best be improved.