Complex operations across a multi-level facility are difficult to visualize and assess for simultaneous operations (SIMOPS), leading to incidents. While you might have created a robust Manual of Permitted Operations (MOPO), are you sure that your team is using the MOPO to take the right measures for managing down the risk of SIMOPS?
Case-in-point: a downstream facility or chemical plant might have two high-risk work permits set up for a given day shift:
- Confined Space Entry
- Hot Work
Both of these, when performed in proximity of each other pose an extremely high SIMOPS risk. This would already be identified in your MOPO. In this case, an authority needs to make the call to stop these permits from going live at the same time.
When it’s time to start work, your team needs to ensure that the SIMOPS risk is understood and that recommended mitigating actions and controls are taken.
SIMOPS or other combinations of work permits need to be taken into account during every planning step of the permit-to-work process. Are lower risk permits still being executed safely enough if other higher risk permits are performed nearby?
Take these five steps to ensure that your team has understood the risk of SIMOPS and has put in controls to minimize this risk:
- Identify the additional hazards introduced by the SIMOPS
- Assess the relevant level of risk
- Verify the adequacy of the planned control measure
- Identify additional risk reduction measures
- Provide input to Permit-To-Work process for embedding additional controls
