1.

Discuss briefly the assertion that ‘investment by a company in safety

Procedures and training reduce the risk and probability of accidents and is good for business.

There exists a direct relationship between the growth of a company and its safety and training

procedures. Productivity of a company is directly proportional to the level of output of every

employee and equipment. Safety procedures reduces the risk of accidents and hence protects

employees from risks of illness, injuries or death thereby saving the company from downtime.

With intensified safety measures, a company cushioned from accidents such as fire and thus

continuous production is ensured. A trained workforce is motivated to work since they are

empowered to handle their duties effectively and efficiently. A motivated workforce translates to

increased and continuous level of productivity. Skilled and knowledgeable people are able to move

the company to greater heights by realizing the goals and targets set.

2. In systematic Risk Assessment when analyzing a hazardous incident it is useful to answer

four basic questions regarding the incident

a) State these four relevant questions.

i. What caused the incident?

ii. How did the incident occur?

iii. What are the precautions to avoid such incident?

iv. How can the precautions be implemented in future to avoid such incidences?

(b) State briefly what is meant by a ‘quantitative approach’ to safety assessment.

This a risk analysis approach that is systematic and formal which used to quantify engineering

operation processes in regards to the safety levels. This approach is used in the identification and

understanding the risks that face the environment, company employees, its assets and reputation.
It involves collection of data so as to come up with estimations levels of safety of a system. A

quantitative system that is reliable enables a company to measure and stick to its set safety goals

3. (a) Define the terms ‘hazard’ and ‘risk’ and distinguish between the two.

Hazard is an element that has the potential to cause harm for example electricity. Hazard may

cause harm to employees, environment or the assets of an organization. Risk is the likelihood of

occurrence of hazard that can result to harm for example an alcoholic is likely to be diagnosed

with liver diseases than a non-alcoholic. Therefore, a hazard may not automatically result to a

harm, however there is risk if there is an exposure to hazard for example: a naked live electric wire

is a risk

(b) Describe briefly what is meant by ordinary (industrial), residual, process and societal

risks, giving examples of each.

i. Ordinary risks- these are rusks which can be encountered during normal engineering operations

and are caused by actions of employees, for example: sliding on the floor, objects falling from

heights

ii. Residual risks- These are the risks suffered after all counter measures against risks have been

addressed for example: electric shock from overhead cables.

iii. Process risks-These are risks that can be suffered due deviation from the estimated outcome

based on random estimations, for example; mechanical failure

iv. Societal risk-These are single risks emanating from industrial incident that causes widespread

or multiple fatalities to the people surrounding the organization for example release of toxic

effluents.
4. Classify the following situations in terms of type of risk and complete the risk table by

assigning probabilities between 0 (not possible) and 1 (certain) with 0.1 – 0.3 (low), 0.4 – 0.6

(average), 0.7 – 0.9 (high) for injury and equipment damage for each hazard. State concisely

the reasons for your choices and any qualifications you feel are required.

Factors such as weather, location and population density should be considered and stated

I. Object falling from scaffold.

Ordinary risk because there is always likelihood of an object falling from higher heights. The

probability of injury is at 0.4, slightly average since falling of objects is expected whereas the

probability of damage is high, 0.7 since the resultant damage is high.

(ii) Tripping over a low level pipe in a petrochemical plant whilst on Night shift.

Ordinary risk because the tripping situation is a daily recurrent scenario. It’s also an process risk

because a person may pass over it many times but get tripped randomly once. The probability of

injury is low, 0.2; because the pipe is known to employees and easily visible. The probability of

damage is also low because the damage to be suffered is very low due to low likelihood of injuries.

(iii) Electric shock from overhead cable/line struck by lightning.

The risk is wide and falls under process, residual and societal risks. This risk is something that’s

common, it’s residual because the risk can be prevented from happening but still lightening occur

and societal risk since the people in the surrounding areas can suffer power outages. The

probability of injury is low since occurrence of lightening is rare. Probability of damage is high

since it does cause massive destruction.

(iv) Radioactive leak into a river from nuclear power station.

Radioactive leak is a societal risk since the leaks causes’ damage to the people in the surrounding

area. The probability of injury is low, 0.2; since effective safety measures have been incorporated

in nuclear power plants whereas probability of damage is very high, 0.9; since radioactive

materials are highly lethal.

(v) Electricity supply interruption in an equipment store with emergency lighting

This is an ordinary risk since it’s a common occurrence, the probabilities of injuries and damages

are low because safety measures have been put in place to counter the same.

(vi) Not replacing a walkway grating on an oil rig.

This is daily occurrence caused by employees’ actions and therefore classified as ordinary risk.

The resultant probability of injury and damages is high.

(vii)Hydrogen sulphide release from pocket in the end of a blanked off pipe in a crude oil

fractionation plant.

Categorized as residual risk since harm can still be encountered in spite of all the safety measures

being observed and adhered to. The impact of the hydrogen sulphide will be experienced by the

surrounding people and thus it also qualifies as a societal risk

 Situations Ordinary Residual Process Societal Probability Probability

Risk Risk Risk Risk of injury of damage

I  0.4 0.7

Ii   0.2 0.2

iii    0.2 0.8

iv   0.2 0.9

V  0.2 0.1

vi  0.8 0.9

vii   0.2 0.8

5. Solid residues had formed on the stirrer shaft and required removal. The vessel was

pumped out and charged with nitrogen to minimize the risk of air entering to form a

flammable atmosphere of hazardous vapor and air. The manhole cover was then removed

and the residues began to be cleaned off with a scraper rod. The operator, however, went for

his lunch before completing the job but left the manhole cover off. Upon his return, a flash

fire was caused when he generated a spark by striking the stirrer shaft with the rod.

Write a short report suggesting reasons why this accident occurred.

This occurrence could have easily been avoided. Two things are evident, the scenario occurred

because of the operator’s negligence or he lacked the technical knowhow on how to fully handle

the situation. The operator may have lacked the necessary skill to work in such hazardous

environment that is highly risky.

On the other hand, the safety measures seemed not to have fully incorporated all faults and errors

that could occur in case of human error. For example, there could be a manual safety procedure to

be followed which could have emphasized on the need to close the man hole in case there is a

break within the process of operation. Also part of high end safety measure could have involved

used of safer rod to prevent the spark ignition flame. The operator could also have worked under

an experienced supervisor.