Let’s have a look at these problems and why they exist:
- Lack of overview. This is a challenge faced by HSE, Risk, as well as Operations and Maintenance. The problem persists as multiple systems are used to manage different aspects of running a facility like Incident Management, Inspection Management, Permit to Work, DCS, Shift Logs, Analysis, Data Historian like Pi, etc. All these systems store one of the other leading indicators which will be used.
- Inefficient process. When a system is not available, this will lead to the use of either Excel or paper processes, which leads to loss of historical data or lack of centralised coordination. For example, actions arising from the breach of a Process Containment barrier is maintained in Excel and one arising from Maintenance planning in the Maintenance system, leading to loss of information when a new system is introduced.
- Ineffective coordination. Often, to maintain a barrier, coordination of multiple departments is required which is only effective when there is a single view of the truth.
- Information significance. Different data collection processes for different barriers and use of different yardsticks, and also incomplete information and data getting stale before it is used by Operations.
All of the above will lead to an incomplete overview of the health status of a facility, and thus lack of confidence in systems that provide indicators.
Why don’t companies act on the data if they could prevent major accidents? It is difficult to collect all the data and determine which one is relevant. Consider factors such as different systems with different data, paper-based data, logbooks, etc. And if you manage to collect all of the data that is relevant – how do you analyze them? These challenges make it difficult for companies to act upon their data to minimize risk on major accidents.
We need to think about a holistic approach where the work is still performed in the respective system that owns the barrier, but any change in an important key performance indicator should be readily visible for the key stakeholder to take appropriate action.
A dynamic Barrier Management solution tackles the above problems and enables you to view real-time cumulative risk across areas and assets while providing:
- Dynamic swiss cheese functionality
- Dynamic bowtie functionality
- Barrier threshold management from a single, easy-to-use interface
All the while seamlessly integrating into your infrastructure, with the capability to enable open APIs for various third-party systems.
In addition, best-in-class Barrier Management software is also fully integrated with Control of Work software, a system that is the 2nd most used system by operations (behind e-mail). This helps to bring Barrier Management to the place where it matters the most, i.e. the day-to-day decision-making, while still enabling managers to see the overall status of the facility. Integration with Permit to Work software is what makes Barrier Management stick to the front line.
We at Enablon tackle challenges with solutions that integrate critical tools and systems by giving you a single view of the truth.
How Does it Work?
Let’s have a look at how it all works.
For a facility Area A, maintenance of a compressor is overdue for more than five days. This situation poses a low risk for your plant.
In the same facility Area A, a loss of process containment event had occurred on a compressor tubing and discharge valve for which the root cause has been identified but not addressed yet. And a temporary MOC change in PSV has occurred. This situation poses a medium risk for your plant.
An operator wants to create a hot work naked flame activity in the same facility area A which is a medium risk job.
Individually, these are a low and medium risk, but when considered together they could possibly create a high-risk situation in Area A.
Will the permit creator add new hazards and controls if they are situationally aware of these ongoing risks? The answer is yes. This is exactly one of the key benefits of Barrier Management software.
Over the next few weeks, there will be additional posts on Barrier Management covering different aspects like current challenges, different implementation approaches, different data sources for barriers, and possible innovations.
For more information, visit the webpages for Barrier Management software and CGE’s BowTieXP software.
