Mourad Salim Aouati, Rachid Chaib, Irina Cozminca and Ion Verzea
Today, methods and risk analysis tools are used to argue decisions concerning issuance of operating licenses, risk management and development of action and emergency plans. In…
Abstract
Purpose
Today, methods and risk analysis tools are used to argue decisions concerning issuance of operating licenses, risk management and development of action and emergency plans. In practice, a company is looking for a tool to help in decision-making and in the development of action plans. Thus, the creation of a safe working environment is essential to a company’s success and is one of the best ways to attract/retain staff and increase productivity. It should then set up a kind of funnel sieve that allows understanding all risks to keep only the most significant, which should be given priority. Thus, global risk management should be based on an accurate diagnosis of all company risks. This diagnosis can be formalized in the form of a risk map. The latter is crucial because it raises the overall risk identification, assessment, prioritization and prioritization of action. It is an essential component of any company’s risk management processes. The objective is to have an overall inventory (entity, system, process, activity, etc.) of the vulnerabilities of all fields of activity. It offers a simple and didactic presentation, giving an overview to decision-makers to guide their strategic choices of action. This mapping is then used to monitor the effectiveness of strategies implemented, forming, in a very relevant tool for communication, the objective assessment of this work. So, the purpose of this study is to describe a methodology for comprehensive risk analysis, called risk map. The purpose of this work is to provide a decision support tool to identify areas of weaknesses to allow setting priorities for action to be undertaken by the company to improve the working conditions by organizational, technical and human solutions while engaging in a process of continuous improvement.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed approach for the development of a risk map comprises five stages: risk identification, where the starting point is the identification of the main company processes or, alternatively, the main company activities; exhibition evaluation, the company counts then evaluate the most important risks that affect their processes or activities and persons; evaluation and prioritization of risks; action plan, the company implements the action plan developed on the basis of the prioritization of risks and the company identifies the solutions implemented to reduce the risk and evaluates; and actions control.
Findings
This study allows making an image of overall places with vulnerabilities inside the company by a simple and didactic representation, facilitating the promotion of a culture of communication regarding the company vulnerabilities. The development of this risk mapping allowed the development of a very useful tool of communication on the inventory for formulating a risk appetite and determining the risk profile. It is a tool for decision and action whose purpose is the improvement of working conditions by organizational solutions, technical and human resources for the health and safety of employees while engaging in a process of continuous improvement.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations of this study include the lack of competence in risk concepts. It is enough to have a pludisciplinary team to highlight the various dangers and move to the priorities and engage in a process of continuous improvement.
Practical implications
The approach detailed in this study can be used in any entity. One just needs to have skills.
Social implications
Low level of work accidents, a pleasant working environment, a very good motivation, a good productivity at work.
Originality/value
This work intends to reflect the concrete situation in which companies face the risks. It is interested in the relations between scientific expertise and the precautionary principle. It is a tool that guarantees the success of any preventive approach in a company. It is a decision-making tool for identifying areas of weakness to establish priorities for action by a company whose aim is to improve the working conditions through organizational, technical and human resources while engaging in a process of continuous improvement.
Details
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Mohamed Seddik Hellas, Chaib Rachid and Ion Verzea
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), known by its ecological qualities, making Algeria has since the 1980s carried out a policy of development of LPG fuel in substitution of traditional…
Abstract
Purpose
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), known by its ecological qualities, making Algeria has since the 1980s carried out a policy of development of LPG fuel in substitution of traditional fuels and especially petrol. However, following a series of accidents (fires, explosions, etc). that occurred in 1999, 20 years after the introduction of the LPG in France these incidents led to the search for the strengthening of the safety of the installations by better or new technical and/or organizational measures. This strategy consists in establishing a balance between environmental protection and economic profitability while ensuring the safety aspect.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach used is quantitative risk analysis authors have identified the potential accident scenarios that consist of leakage and rupture of tanks depend on bow tie. According to the latter using PHAST software, to model these scenarios (thermal, overpressure and dispersion) and their effects on human beings and goods.
Findings
In this paper, it was noted that there are scenarios such as (jet fire, dispersion), are affected by atmospheric conditions (wind speed humidity), the stronger the wind, the higher the LPG spread unlike instant scenarios (1.3 s for the fireball and millisecond for the explosion) that have not been related to climatic conditions because they have a short duration on the one hand, and on the other hand, a safe distance is given in each phenomenon. Finally, some instructions for drivers and installers have been identified by protective and preventive action.
Originality/value
Based on a quantitative risk analysis, this work involves modelling potential accident scenarios such as (fireball, jet fire, flash fire and explosion) in the event of a gas leak and rupture in the tank. It aims to sensitize drivers and LPG kit installers, even to get a clear view on these accidental phenomena and how to avoid them.
Details
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Mohamed Seddik Hellas, Rachid Chaib and Ion Verzea
Nowadays, artificial intelligence computational methods, such as knowledge-based systems, neural networks, genetic algorithms and fuzzy logic, have been increasingly applied to…
Abstract
Purpose
Nowadays, artificial intelligence computational methods, such as knowledge-based systems, neural networks, genetic algorithms and fuzzy logic, have been increasingly applied to several industrial research studies, the purpose of this paper is to study the contribution of fuzzy and possibilistic techniques to quantitative risk analysis (QRA) in the presence of imperfect knowledge about the occurrence and consequences of accidental phenomena.
Design/methodology/approach
To solve the problem of uncertainties related to the elements of the accident scenario such as the frequency and severity of the consequences, the authors used fuzzy logic. Using this type of analysis, it is possible to visualize the contours of the dead or fuzzy injury by fireball thermal effect (first- and second-degree burn, death) and lesions caused by vapor cloud explosion overpressure (lung damage, eardrum rupture, head impact, whole-body displacement). The frequency and severity of fuzzy results are calculated by extended multiplication using the alpha-cuts method.
Findings
This research project aims to reflect the real situation in the in Amenas industrial area (SONATRACH company), specifically the liquefied petroleum gas storage tank On-Spec 05-V-411A, to deal with this type of risk. Using this analysis allows us to estimate the fuzzy individual risk using the approach of fuzzy logic to treating this uncertainty in the parameter information of accident scenarios. This index individuel risk (IR) was evaluated against the criterion of acceptability and then used for decision-making in the field of industrial risk analysis and evaluation.
Originality/value
The originality of the work is to identify the weak points of the classical QRA to solve the problem of the uncertainties related to the elements of the accident scenario such as the frequency and severity of the consequences to visualize the fuzzy risk contours. On the one hand and the development of software to calculate the probability of death by the overpressure effect and classify the most sensitive organs on the other hand. Given the importance of this study, it can be generalized for similar sites in the region.
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Louiza Ait Ouffroukh, Rachid Chaib, Verzea Ion and Lakhdar Khochmane
Algeria occupies an important place in all of the oil-producing countries. However, in recent years, industrial facilities have experienced a rapid increase in the number of major…
Abstract
Purpose
Algeria occupies an important place in all of the oil-producing countries. However, in recent years, industrial facilities have experienced a rapid increase in the number of major industrial accidents and calamities, where fires and explosions have caused impacts and severe effects on people, property and the environment. Therefore, this paper aims to analyze the risks involved and assess the performance of the technical barriers at the thermo-hydraulic level of facilities at the level of the refinery of Skikda.
Design/methodology/approach
The most effective methods in this field of activity are the systematic analyses of deviations or failures. As working tools, hazard and operability (HAZOP) method and fault tree analysis (FTA) were used to identify the various possible risks that could lead to undesirable phenomena, with the Topping unit. Using this type of analysis, it is possible to understand what the most risky process steps are and, where appropriate, to propose appropriate corrective and preventive measures. HAZOP is dedicated to the analysis of the risks of thermo-hydraulic systems and to control drift parameters such as pressure, temperature and flow. Unfortunately, with its limitations to the detection of leaks, the authors completed the study by FTA, working with a predetermined set of process parameters associated with system operation (compression, temperature, flow, etc.). Each of these parameters are combined with a series of possible potential deviations (too much, little, inverse, etc). For each analyzed equipment, the relevant parameters are selected and combined with the relevant deviations. For each parameter of the deviant process, the causes and consequences are determined.
Findings
The combination of these two methods has allowed to highlight the various possible risks that could lead to undesirable phenomena, to respond to industrial expectations or even to manage the operation process safely. Thus, it enabled the authors to detect the weaknesses of the process. This allowed the authors to reinforce the technical safety barriers of the functional links of the process and propose appropriate, corrective and preventive measures.
Originality/value
The work intends to reflect the real situation in which companies face risks. The originality of the work is represented by the combination of two methods: HAZOP and the FTA. This association allowed the authors to identify areas of weakness to set priorities for action by the company, through organizational, technical and human solutions, while engaging in a process of continuous improvement.
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Rabeh Kharzi, Rachid Chaib and Ahcene Akni
This paper aims to clarify how is a project managed and how are its objectives achieved? In this manner, prioritize the points to be treated, the tasks to be performed and the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to clarify how is a project managed and how are its objectives achieved? In this manner, prioritize the points to be treated, the tasks to be performed and the solutions to be applied in a given space of time. From now onward, each stakeholder has its own requirements and expectations. Yet, in the end, you have no choice but to list the priority points. Moreover, note that each company, each service and each team is unique. As well as each individual is equally important.
Design/methodology/approach
Agile approaches, especially the MoSCoW method, were used. This tool is very practical and very simple to implement to set priorities for the actions to be performed. Selecting a tool that is easy to understand and easy to use has the advantage of helping to build consensus around prioritizing requirements, particularly in health and safety at work or even to establish a culture of safety at the workplace. This positive corporate culture is at the heart of sustainable development and the success of occupational health and safety institutions.
Findings
Therefore, with 51,500 work accidents recorded in 2016, it seems essential to know how to adapt and give one’s management style to one’s environment. Its the key to success! To reach these objectives, the progress of the manager is to supervise his collaborators. For this, it is necessary to know how to make choices, make decisions, ideally the right ones. It is much less common to list the features that are unwanted to be integrated. Thinking in this manner makes it possible to approach the project from a different perspective; thus, it makes it possible to obtain a much more targeted list of tasks and requirements compared with a more traditional method, i.e., the results of this work.
Originality/value
Capacity to know how to make choices, make decisions, ideally the right ones, especially in health and safety at work. On the other hand, it is not possible to deal with everything in a project. The manager, with a very simple tool easy to implement, manages to supervise his employees and achieving these goals in the company and obtain a list of tasks and requirements much more targeted compared to a more traditional method.