Advantages of Electronic Permit-to-Work Systems in ...
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Advantages of Electronic Permit-to-Work Systems in Hydrocarbon Industries Dr. Atul Srivastava, Reliance Industries Ltd Vice President – HSE Engineering, HOD
Transcript of Advantages of Electronic Permit-to-Work Systems in ...
Advantages of Electronic
Permit-to-Work Systems in
Hydrocarbon Industries
Dr. Atul Srivastava, Reliance Industries Ltd
Vice President – HSE Engineering, HOD
CONTENTS
Permit to Work (PTW) System:
-Piper Alpha Disaster Started with Manual PTW
-Disadvantages of Manual PTW System
-Advantages of E-PTW
-Challenges of E-PTW System
-Leading Global E-PTW Software Providers
-Concluding Remarks
SO, WHAT HAPPENED AT PIPER-ALPHAPIPER ALFA, 1988: 167 PEOPLE DIED DUE TO POOR
IMPLEMENTATION OF PTW SYSTEM.
Pump-B Running
Pump-A Under
Maintenance (PTW-1)
PRV-A removed for
Maintenance (PTW-2).
Blind not bolted properly
PRV-B in Service
Pump-B trips
Pump-A started after maintenance. Night Shift
not aware of PRV-A PTW (kept separately)
PTW SYSTEM IS JUST A TOOL. HOW BEST YOU USE IT IS YOUR SKILL.
THEY FAILED TO KEEP PTWs OF THE SAME PROCESS SYSTEM TOGETHER
LET’S REFRESH OUR BASICS!
PTW System Components
• Forms
• People
• Certificates
• Documents
• Infrastructure
The Wheel of HazardsMech.Hazard (Vibrating Equipt)
• Manage exposure times• Assess effect of vibration on
equipment• Use low vibration equipment• Apply noise controls
Pressurized Equipment
• Perform isolation – LOTO, blinding• Depressurize, drain, purge, and
vent• Relieve trapped pressure• Avoid auto-refrigeration when
depressurizing• Anticipate residual pressure or
fluids• Secure temporary hoses
Source: Shell
Hierarchy of Risk Controls
Se
ve
rity
CONSEQUENCES INCREASING LIKELIHOOD
Pe
op
le
As
se
ts
En
vir
on
me
nt
A B C D E
Very remote Highly
improbable
Improbable Moderate Frequent
10-5
10-3
10-2
10-1
- 1
>1
0 No health effect/injury
No damage No effect
1 Slight health effect/injury
Slight damage
Slight effect
Low risk (Blue Zone)
2 Minor health effect/injury
Minor damage
Minor effect
3 Major health effect/injury
Localized damage
Moderate effect
Medium risk
4 1 Fatality or Multiple severe injuries (PTD)*
Major damage
Major effect
(Yellow Zone)
(Red Zone)
5 Several
fatalities
Extensive
damage
Massive
impact High risk
Risk Assessment Matrix
Disadvantages of Manual PTW System1. Handwritings of involved parties may be poor, leading to subsequent confusion during
processing of PTWs and the associated delays. This may lead to poor Hazard Analysis/ Risk
Assessment and unsafe situations also.
2. For doing the same and similar jobs again and again, users have to manually write and fill the
forms again and again, leading to more manual work.
3. Place available on manual PTW Form for Risk Assessment (RA) is less.
4. A confined space such as a vessel etc can be boxed up (with our without people and tools
inside) while a live PTW is still on/ not closed. This happens when the associated shift
supervisors don’t do their record keeping properly and don’t manage well their copies of the
PTWs issued for the same confined space. If one of their copies is missing or misplaced, this
incident may happen.
5. Similarly, due to manual paper mismanagement, electrical systems can be authorized to be
energized by a shift supervisor when other PTW is still open on the same equipment, leading
to SHE incidents.
6. Manual PTWs are susceptible to being damaged / lost. This involves rewriting, reprocessing &
reissuing them manually with associated waste of time.
Disadvantages of Manual PTW System (Contd….)
7. During SHE incidents, the involved signatories may disown their signatures.
8. Loss or intentional misplacement of PTWs requiring investigations etc.
9. Possibility of people overwriting on /adding to the contents of the authorized and issued PTWs at a
later stage, if SHE incidents occur.
10.Difficulties associated with carrying out effective audits.
11.Poor traceability of archived PTWs.
12.Poor data management and poor analytical abilities.
13.The Manual system does not have ability to see all the PTWs globally and in detail with regards to
different facilities across the Company at a glance.
Advantages of E-PTW System
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1. Readability: Highly legible because handwriting not required. This leads to a clearer Risk
Assessment (RA) and subsequent smoother processing of PTW and associated certificates.
2. Reproducibility of similar jobs (copying previous identical/ similar jobs)
3. More comprehensive Risk Assessment platform
4. Automatic Safety Interlocks (A Confined space can not be boxed up until all associated PTWs
issued for working inside are closed. An electrical equipment/energy source can not be de-
isolated/ energized until all associated PTWs issued on it are closed).
5. Non-perishability of data (Unlike manual PTW, EPTW can be printed any time)
6. Security (password protected)
7. Traceability/Retrievability (who did what while processing the PTW).
8. Auditability (Better availability of data)
9. Attachability of documents (Documents such as methods statements, drawings etc can be attached
to the associated PTW through network)
10.Superior Documentation and Analytical abilities
11.ROI (Return on Investment) high in long-term
Advantages of E-PTW System (Contd…)
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12.Automatic Safety Control Gates (A PTW can not be authorized unless RA has been reviewed and
approved by Shift Supervisor. A PTW can not be authorized unless some special job Certificates
used for site preparation are at the right stage, e.g. Isolation Certificate must be at ‘Isolated +
LOTO’, Confined Space Entry Certificate at ‘Approved’ after Safety Representative has certified it
as fit, Radiography Certificate at ‘Approved’ by Radiation Protection Supervisor, Excavation
Certificate at ‘Approved’ after the concerned Civil Engineer has given his clearance, similarly other
Certificate at ‘Approved’ after specialist clearance before a PTW can be authorized.
13. Field electronic devices/data-loggers/PDAs help capture PTW status data
14.Password-equivalent i-buttons and employee ID swipe cards.
15.Support real-time graphical display featuring active Permits at different locations (Dash Boards)
16.Since it is derived from a proven manual PTW System developed, used and proven over a period of
time, users feel comfortable in correlating with it.
17.E-PTW users can switch over to Manual PTW System during very unlikely system unavailability and
vice versa.
Advantages of E-PTW System (Contd.)
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18.Computer-assisted RA in order to improve safety practice and work reference
19.Computer-printed isolation tags
20. Interface with work-order software (e.g. maintenance/inspection) to capture the job description
automatically.
21.Computer-Based Training linked with software
22.Handling of massive number of PTWs e.g. a few lakhs annually
23.Gradual building up of databases e.g. Risk Assessment and Isolations
24.Unlimited archive-life
25. Isolation Key Management
26.Aid in Emergency Response & Rescue through E-PTW dashboard
Challenges of E-PTW System
1. Initial cost is high (hardware, software, training)
2. Developmental time for electronic PTW System is fairly long, particularly for large organizations
3. E-PTW Industry is still not matured unlike aviation, automobile etc
4. Comfort levels of users vary as per their PC exposure
5. Some people may have misconceptions that Electronic PTW System will generate Permits
automatically, with people nothing much to do.
6. Advantages depend upon quality of input data e.g. isolation points (GIGO)
Leading Global E-PTW Software Providers
1. Engica (Product Q4)
2. E-Vision (E-vision PTW)
3. Petrotechnics (Sentinel Pro)
4. RAP International (RAP)
5. SAP (A number of agents worldwide)
6. Sage Surpass (Sage Technology)
7. GEMsoft7
A Sample of E-PTW System
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CONCLUDING REMARKS
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THANK YOU
1. E-PTW System is indispensable for future HC industrial growth
Any Questions
[email protected]; Mob: +91-7710067708
2. E-PTW ensures a safe working environment and safe execution of work.
3. E-PTW and Risk Assessment are closely linked through a large RA tree.
4. Understanding a PTW cycle is necessary from control perspective.
5. Incident Investigation helps to improve PTW system.
6. Management owes immense responsibility to PTW infrastructure.
7. E-PTW development is the current trend in PTW system globally.
