The purpose of this study is to provide means of reflection on the skill acquired during accidents occurring in normal and disorganized situations as well as to draw the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide means of reflection on the skill acquired during accidents occurring in normal and disorganized situations as well as to draw the consequences, memorize and reuse them in order to avoid them in the future.
Design/methodology/approach
We perceive the external and familiar manifestations of the use of electricity such as light, heat and motion. The lack of a direct visual perception of this type of energy often leads to serious consequences caused by either ignored or underestimated risks. The severity of accidents related to electrical risk remains high: nearly 1 in 100 deaths was caused by electricity in 2010. In Algeria, nearly 180 deaths per year are electricity-related; electricity is also the cause of 20 per cent of fires. As the prevention of this risk affects many sectors, apart from power generation and power distribution networks, workers in all types of work areas, from construction to maintenance, are likely to be exposed to electrical hazards.
Findings
The results of this study imply that any workplace can face an electrical accident. Therefore, in this work, the authors have attempted to create a memory of risks, based on the feedback of fatal adverse events manifested in a national company, Sonelgaz, in Algeria. Asystematic analysis of these three fatal accidents allows prediction of possible dangerous situations and helps to better plan the objective prevention of such future incidents.
Originality/value
The lack of direct visual perception of this type of energy often leads to serious consequences caused by ignored or underestimated risks. The severity of accidents related to electrical risk remains high: nearly one over 100 deaths are because of electricity in 2010. In Algeria, the authors recorded nearly 180 deaths per year; it is also the cause of 20 per cent of fires. As now, because the prevention of this risk affects many sectors, apart from power generation and power distribution networks, all types of work, from construction to maintenance are likely to expose workers to electrical hazards. This implies that any company can face an electrical accident. Therefore, in this work the authors try to create a memory of risks, based on the feedback of fatal adverse events manifested in the national company Sonelgaz in Algeria.
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Wafa Boulagouas, Rachid Chaib and Mebarek Djebabra
Improvements to health and safety at work constantly involve organizational changes (OCs). However, the OC initiatives often fail at achieving their intended goals despite efforts…
Abstract
Purpose
Improvements to health and safety at work constantly involve organizational changes (OCs). However, the OC initiatives often fail at achieving their intended goals despite efforts to draw knowledge from various disciplines, such as sociology, psychology and information sciences, to guide the change implementation. This paper proposes a temporality approach to manage the resistance during an OC project based on the capitalization of the actors' behaviors (i.e. alignment/resistance) for successful OC implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
Employees in an industrial company (N = 186) undergoing an OC answered a questionnaire survey. The statistical analysis approach was used to measure the influence of the constructs of the proposed temporality capitalization approach on the OC conduct.
Findings
Results indicate that the considered constructs have positive and significant correlations with OC development. It has also been found that the employees' alignment is highly correlated with the opportunities they might gain from the OC.
Practical implications
The proposed temporality capitalization approach shows that providing the employees with clear objectives is not sufficient to support the change, and it is suggested that the change management has to move a step further and seek to target the perspectives of the employees to energize them around the OC and maximize their alignment.
Originality/value
In this paper, change management is approached through the temporality capitalization that confirms the importance of monitoring the change development through the alignment. In other terms, the curve of the adaptation of the change receivers matters and should attract more attention rather than the change implementation speed.
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Kahoul Hafida, Chaib Rachid and Bellaouar Ahmed
Because of non-satisfactory results obtained at the iron rods steel mill, during the last period of work and to collect relevant data to facilitate rapid and efficient…
Abstract
Purpose
Because of non-satisfactory results obtained at the iron rods steel mill, during the last period of work and to collect relevant data to facilitate rapid and efficient decision-making, the purpose of this study is to describe a global analysis method of risks encountered by companies resulting from their own effects or by their environment to integrate prevention as soon as the conception of work place. From this point of view, it seems that it is time for companies that did learn to master direct costs to learn how to control indirect costs, which means controlling the risks and learning to face them once they are detected.
Design/methodology/approach
The method of work used is hazard identification and risk assessment (HIRA), which is based on Kinney evaluation. The HIRA allowed the authors to collect and analyze different dangers and risks at work posts and consider different corrective measures to prevent damages. The HIRA techniques are based on identifying the different hazardous situations and the risk related to each working station; the risks are identified and are classified and mitigated accordingly. Using unique criteria, the objective of the risk assessment part is to assign to each risk a numerical value. The criteria used for classifying and ordering the risk importance depend greatly on the selected method.
Findings
Risks are identified, classified and mitigated accordingly using Kinney method criteria depending on three factors: frequency of exposure (NE), probability of occurrence (NP) and severity level (NG). The level of risk mitigation (NM) is obtained as the product of the three factors (NP, NG and NE). Using the Pareto plot (20-80 per cent), the authors highlighted the priorities to be taken in the order of importance of the most important causes to take targeted measures.
Originality/value
This work is an opportunity for the steel mill complex to start a global approach in prevention of risks and improve working conditions. This can be reached by taking into consideration the technical, organizational and human solutions; It would not be a better method to search for ways and means to reach better prevention of industrial and technological risks, but it will preserve health of workers and get to a global higher level of security. Also, the steel mill complex can be engaged in a continuous improvement process. Therefore, management of risks will be a relevant way to decrease undesirable effects due to the diverse activities of the company.
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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.
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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.
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Wafa Boulagouas, Rachid Chaib and Mebarek Djebabra
Decoupling of pressures ranging from regulatory compliance and stakeholders expectations to business competitiveness and sustainability, companies need to align their…
Abstract
Purpose
Decoupling of pressures ranging from regulatory compliance and stakeholders expectations to business competitiveness and sustainability, companies need to align their environmental strategies with a broader consideration of these influences. This paper aims at developing a dynamic alignment model to enhance the environmental performance that considers the influential pressures based on a multi-criteria decision-making process.
Design/methodology/approach
Authors have proposed a dynamic model for the alignment of the environmental performance based on a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making approach combining the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). This model considers contemporary strategic dynamism of the environmental performance and provides a methodology to assist companies prioritizing the environmental aspects based on the influential pressures and deciding on the enhancement pathways.
Findings
The proposed model based on a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making process allows prioritizing the environmental aspects considering the allocated weights to the alignment-triggered pressures and draw the way to develop different pathways to improve the alignment.
Practical implications
The proposed dynamic alignment model presents an instrument for the continuous alignment of the environmental performance and an effective management of changes and contributes to minimize gaps and divergences.
Originality/value
In this paper, the environmental performance has been approached through the contemporary strategic dynamism with the deployment of the multi-criteria decision-making techniques to yield an alignment framework for the environmental decision that combines the internal and external approaches for an effective and sustainable improvement of the environmental performance.
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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
Keywords
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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Abdelaziz Boutrid, Salim Bensehamdi and Rachid Chaib
Literature review information about the knowledge of the rock strength with particular reference to hardness has been utilized. The Brinell hardness test is a simple and…
Abstract
Literature review information about the knowledge of the rock strength with particular reference to hardness has been utilized. The Brinell hardness test is a simple and inexpensive estimation of the strength properties of a formation, thus reducing the high cost of extensive laboratory rock testing program. These tests were carried out on rock samples taken from the Hassi Messaoud site investigation (wells OMN602 and OMN402) at different depth ranging from 1,900m to 2,900m. Comprehensive lists of the known tests were established. A description of the site from where the samples were obtained is discussed. The methods and procedure of the laboratory tests are also presented. It is also shown there exists a useful correlation between Brinell hardness and the strength properties of the rock.