An accident in a process plant is simply not desirable to anyone, from company managers to local government. The single most devastating consequence of a major accident such as a fire, explosion or toxic chemical release, is the loss of human lives. The economic loss from such accidents is colossal.
The key challenge for the company managers is to identify all possible causes for an accident and take measures to prevent them.
Some of the common causes for accidents are:
Mechanical failures
Operational errors
Failure to recognize a malfunction and take timely corrective actions
An analysis of several past incidents and accidents will reveal that one of the largest contributors to accidents are from human errors.
The human errors are typically due to;
Inadequate job knowledge
Inadequate experience or hands-on training
Poor safety awareness
Less experienced and poorly trained personnel tend to make more mistakes. Operating personnel require proper induction training and periodic refresher training, to perform their jobs without errors.