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A practical approach to preventing systematic error in the maintenance of instrumented safeguards
Author(s) -
Summers Angela,
Roche Eloise
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
process safety progress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.378
H-Index - 40
eISSN - 1547-5913
pISSN - 1066-8527
DOI - 10.1002/prs.12102
Subject(s) - reliability engineering , reliability (semiconductor) , human error , risk analysis (engineering) , process (computing) , vulnerability (computing) , table (database) , engineering , control (management) , operations management , computer science , business , computer security , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , data mining , operating system
Instrumentation and electrical (I&E) maintenance is typically managed using site‐wide policies, practices, and procedures. Since I&E equipment is part of the control system and nearly every other layer of protection, the cumulative impact of poor I&E performance can be a significant contributor to major events. Systematic problems in managing I&E equipment reliability lower process safety performance across a site. Practical guidance is needed on how to assess the vulnerability of existing sites to instrumented safeguard failure due to maintenance deficits. This paper leverages Reason's organizational accident model as a framework to discuss site‐specific factors that impact a site's susceptibility to maintenance error. A table of more than 60 human factors covering I&E maintenance activities was developed and organized by four elements of causality: organizational processes, workplace practices, personnel traits, and enabling conditions. The human factors table can be used to rate an industrial site on a negative‐to‐positive scale, highlighting those areas where systematic changes would likely improve maintenance performance and instrument reliability.