HSEHealth&SafetyExecutiveAssessingthesafetyofstaffingarrangementsforprocessoperationsinthechemicalandalliedindustriesPreparedbyEntecUKLtdfortheHealthandSafetyExecutiveCONTRACTRESEARCHREPORT348/2001HSEHealth&SafetyExecutiveAssessingthesafetyofstaffingarrangementsforprocessoperationsinthechemicalandalliedindustriesPhilipBrabazon&HelenConlinEntecUKLtd17AngelGateCityRoadLondonEC1V2SHUnitedKingdomThisstudyhasbeencompletedonbehalfoftheHazardousInstallationsDirectorate(HID)oftheHealthandSafetyExecutivewhohaveobservedthatanumberofchemicalsitesaretakingstepstoreducestaffinglevelsintheiroperatingteams.Thereisaconcernthatsuchreductionscouldimpacttheabilityofasitetocontrolabnormalandemergencyconditionsandmayalsohaveanegativeeffectonstaffperformancethroughanimpactonworkload,fatigue,etc.Amethodhasbeendevelopedthatflagswhentoofewstaffarebeingusedtocontrolaprocess.Itisnotdesignedtocalculateaminimumoroptimumnumberofstaff.However,ifasitefindsitsstaffingarrangements‘fail’theassessment,itisnotnecessarilythecasethatstaffnumbersmustbeincreasedasotheroptionsmaybeavailable.Themethodalsoallowsdutyholderstobenchmarkhowtheymanagestaffingarrangements.Themethodhasbeentrialedandfromtheexperienceandcommentsofthoseparticipating,itisjudgedthemethodbringsstaffingissuesintotheopen,ispractical,useableandintelligibletodutyholdersandinspectors,andisrobustandresistanttomanipulationandmassagingofitsoutput.ThisreportandtheworkitdescribeswerefundedbytheHealthandSafetyExecutive(HSE).Itscontents,includinganyopinionsand/orconclusionsexpressed,arethoseoftheauthorsaloneanddonotnecessarilyreflectHSEpolicy.HSEBOOKSii©Crowncopyright2001Applicationsforreproductionshouldbemadeinwritingto:CopyrightUnit,HerMajesty’sStationeryOffice,StClementsHouse,2-16Colegate,NorwichNR31BQFirstpublished2001ISBN0717620441Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans(electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwise)withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofthecopyrightowner.iiiEXECUTIVESUMMARYIntroductionThisstudyhasbeencompletedonbehalfoftheHazardousInstallationsDirectorate(HID)oftheHealthandSafetyExecutivewhohaveobservedthatanumberofchemicalsitesaretakingstepstoreducestaffinglevelsintheiroperatingteams.Thereisaconcernthatsuchreductionscouldimpacttheabilityofasitetocontrolabnormalandemergencyconditionsandmayalsohaveanegativeeffectonstaffperformancethroughanimpactonworkload,fatigue,etc.HIDidentifiedtheneedforapracticalmethodthatorganisationscouldusetoassesstheirrequiredstaffinglevelsandtheimpactonsafetyofanyreductioninoperationsstaff.Themethodistohelpcompaniesinthechemicalandalliedindustriesjustifyappropriatelevelsofoperationsstaffbyasuitableandsufficientassessment,andenableHIDinspectorstoapplyconsistentstandardsonstaffinglevels.MethodThemethodconcentratesonthestaffingrequirementsforrespondingtohazardousincidents.Specifically,itisconcernedwithhowstaffingarrangementsaffectthereliabilityandtimelinessofdetectingincidents,diagnosingthem,andrecoveringtoasafestate.Themethodisdesignedtoflagwhentoofewstaffarebeingusedtocontrolaprocess.Itisnotdesignedtocalculateaminimumoroptimumnumberofstaff.Ifasitefindsthatitsstaffingarrangements‘fail’theassessment,itisnotnecessarilythecasethatthatstaffnumbersmustbeincreased.Otheroptionsmaybeavailable.Themethodisintwoparts.Thefirstisaphysic...
