How do you conduct a thorough risk assessment for your maintenance activities?

There are a few more things that are usually overlooked. First is to ask if your team has the knowledge, tools and experience to do a task. There is great value in recognizing that the potential for failure is greater than for success. An external contractor can save time and money, and provide hands-on training and invaluable experience to the team. A good manager should be able to identify the interconnectivity and dependence between systems and thus create a good workflow schedule.

I think,To identify the maintenance tasks that need to be performed and their scope and frequency, you can follow these steps using maintenance plans, work orders, manuals, or checklists: 1. Review Maintenance Plans: 2. Utilize Work Orders 3. Consult Equipment Manuals 4. Create Checklists: Develop 5. Categorize and Group Tasks 6. Determine Frequency: By following these steps and utilizing available resources such as maintenance plans, work orders, manuals, and checklists, you can effectively identify the maintenance tasks that need to be performed, their scope, and the frequency at which they should be carried out.

High quality maintenance task should predefined the following: - equipment, specs and rated values function location, maintenance type & frequency, materials required to the Specific task and the essential tools and devices needed. - the necessary safety precautions and procedures. - simple but effective work breakdown and steps, area to give more concern and attention, required test and inspection with referenced values, and so on. All of the above will simplifies the identification process of the hazard and risk associated in tools required to perform the job, type of materials and their handling procedure, equipment itself as well as the activities breakdown.

La evaluación de riesgos no puede ser general, debe estar asociada a las tareas específicas. El quehacer de Mantenimiento engloba una gran variedad de tipos de tareas de distintas especialidades. Algunas tareas serán rutinarias, como las que forman parte del Plan de Mantenimiento, y de las acciones que se derivarán de su aplicación. Mientras que otras tareas más puntuales, estarán asociadas a trabajos correctivos programados, o proyectos de Mantenimiento. Mientras que otras tareas específicas estarán asociadas a trabajos correctivos de emergencia. Para toda esta variedad de tareas se debe gestionar los riesgos de seguridad, a partir del estudio pormenorizado de las tareas a realizar, en conjunto con el área especializada en Seguridad.

To conduct a thorough risk assessment for maintenance activities: Identify the maintenance tasks. This includes identifying the specific tasks that need to be performed, as well as the scope and frequency of each task. Identify the hazards. For each maintenance task, identify all of the potential hazards that could cause harm to people, property, or the environment. This includes both obvious hazards, such as working with energized equipment, as well as less obvious hazards, such as exposure to hazardous chemicals or fumes.

In my opinion, in analyzing the hazards you can follow these steps: 1. Begin by reviewing the list of maintenance tasks you've identified and categorized. 2. Identify potential hazards that could arise during the execution of each maintenance task. 3. Evaluate the severity and likelihood of each identified hazard. 4. Develop and implement control measures to mitigate the identified hazards. 5. Ensure that workers involved in performing the maintenance tasks are adequately trained on hazard recognition, safe work practices, and emergency procedures. 6. Consider the potential impact of maintenance activities on the surrounding environment. 7. Establish a system for ongoing hazard analysis and risk assessment.

In addition to what already mentioned above, the following Hazard should include: - sharp tools - work at height - pressurized equipment - rotating equipment - confined space - hot surface - etc.,

El trabajo combinado de las personas que conocen en detalle las tareas a realizar, con el aporte de los especialistas en Seguridad, complementa y potencia la identificación de peligros asociados a cada tarea específica. Luego, en base a la probabilidad y consecuencias se podrán determinar los riesgos.

Although tedious, running through the whole initial risk assessment questionnaire is mandatory when creating a new maintenance task. Even for an experienced risk assessor, there might be something missed, that can create serious hazards down the line. A good, robust LOTO system does not imply locking everything, but only what is required. Also, there should not be missed an individual 5 min risk assessment of the team members, performed before the beginning of every job.

Incorporating a multidisciplinary approach when analyzing hazards can significantly enhance the accuracy of risk assessments. Engaging with personnel from different departments, such as operations, safety, and engineering, provides diverse perspectives that uncover potential risks. This collaborative effort ensures a comprehensive understanding of each task's intricacies, leading to more effective hazard identification and mitigation strategies.

Una vez que se determinan los riesgos, se pueden determinar las acciones más adecuadas para eliminar y minimizar dichos riesgos. No se debe caer en el error de sólo pensar en los equipos de protección personal (EPP), que si bien es muy importante su uso, no deberían ser el primer elemento para asegurar la protección de las personas. Según indica la Norma ISO 45000, para implementar controles de Seguridad, primero hay que analizar la forma de eliminar y sustituir los peligros, en el siguiente nivel la implementación de controles de Ingeniería para aislar a las personas del peligro, seguido de la se?alización de advertencia y controles administrativos, como Permisos de trabajo, y por último el uso de EPP.

In my opinion, a minimal toolbox talk should be considered a part of the controls. Giving the responsibility back to the team for taking care of the person in the mirror and their colleagues, will always create a safer work environment, and a stronger team.

In maintenance management, the hierarchy of controls is a fundamental principle for mitigating risks effectively. By prioritizing elimination and substitution over PPE, we focus on removing the hazard entirely or replacing it with something less dangerous, which is inherently more effective than relying on workers to wear protective gear correctly. This approach enhances safety and often results in long-term cost savings by reducing the need for ongoing PPE expenses and potential accident-related costs.

Every monitoring and review of a maintenance project should then roll into a future PM process. I think to often we are so rushed to move onto the next project we don't mark down what we learned from the one we just completed to pass on for future addressing.

Luego de la determinación de los controles, hay que informar a las personas de los riesgos y las precauciones de Seguridad. Puede ser necesario un entrenamiento práctico para la realización de la tarea de forma segura. Así mismo, los Supervisores inmediatos deben estar fuertemente comprometidos con la Seguridad de las personas que tienen a cargo. Son quienes deben revisar si se cumplen con los controles que se han establecido.

There will always be unexpected events in any task. The ability of the system to implement swift changes to the controls, and continuous improvement is one of the best indicators that it works. Many times a debriefing meeting after a completed task will streamline the process for the future.

Technology such as maintenance management software can significantly enhance the monitoring and review process. These tools offer real-time data analytics and automated reporting, enabling more accurate and timely risk assessment and control measure adjustments. This ensures a higher level of safety and efficiency and facilitates better communication and transparency among stakeholders.

Más allá de que utilicen plantillas para guiar la evaluación de riesgos, esta no puede ser de carácter genérico, sino específica a la Organización, el equipo, y la tarea que se está realizando. Más efectiva será la gestión de riesgos, según se haya una adecuada evaluación de riesgos. Además, el proceso de gestión de riesgos, debe dar al cumplimiento legal específico del país donde se encuentra la Organización, y la normativa coorporativa que pueda disponer la Organización.

As with any tool, the correct risk assessment template must be identified first. A great help in doing this is the commissioning documentation and the risks and controls identified and implemented during this faze.

- Think about what might go wrong: First, make a list of things that could possibly go wrong during the maintenance. This helps you figure out potential risks. - Check how likely it is to happen: Once you have your list, think about how likely each problem is to actually occur. This step helps you prioritize and focus on the more probable risks. - Plan how to handle the risks: After identifying possible problems and their likelihood, come up with ways to handle each risk. This might involve having backup equipment, creating a response plan, or even training your team for specific challenges. Planning ahead is like having a toolbox to deal with unexpected situations.

Una evaluación exhaustiva de riesgos para actividades de mantenimiento se lleva a cabo utilizando el Análisis de Modo y Efectos de Falla Potencial, un método sistemático que identifica posibles modos de falla en los equipos, evalúa sus efectos y prioriza acciones de mitigación. Comenzando con la identificación de componentes críticos y sus posibles fallas, se evalúa la probabilidad de ocurrencia, la severidad de los efectos y la capacidad de detección de cada modo de falla. A través de este proceso, se pueden identificar y priorizar los riesgos asociados con las actividades de mantenimiento, permitiendo la implementación de medidas preventivas y correctivas para minimizar la probabilidad de fallas y sus impactos negativos en la operación.

Este apartado del artículo brinda un aspecto clave, que la evaluación de riesgos debe actualizarse, según haya modificaciones en la tarea. De hecho, esto constituye el mayor desafío en la Gestión de la Seguridad en el área de Mantenimiento, ya que se estará frente de cientos o miles de tareas, algunas rutinarias y repetitivas, pero otras no. Tal como indico en nuestra Capacitación de Planificación, Programación e Indicadores de Mantenimiento, se debe integrar la Seguridad a la Planificación.

Keep in mind that in addition to a risk assessment at individual activity level, you really need an overall risk assessment of your maintenance processes and the resulting (technical) integrity of your equipment.

What I like to do is something I learned in the Army. At the end of a project or section of project work, do an after assessment. Did the work go well and safe. 3 good and 3 that we can do better next time. This will help identify safety issues that will come up again and help with up coming work safety plans.

Work orders and risk assessments are a great way of acknowledging there are problems. The cons are the maintenance departments also have their priorities and they do not always correspond to your priorities. This in a nutshell can leave to leave to days weeks and sometimes months before the issues are addressed.

Más allá del cumplimiento legal que se requiere en cada país en el ámbito de la seguridad laboral, en muchas oportunidades se debe ir más allá. Integrar recomendaciones más avanzadas, más que nada para tareas de alto riesgo, como suele haber en el diario quehacer de Mantenimiento. Tener en cuenta referencias normativas internacionales, para aportar a eliminar, y sustituir los riesgos a los que estarían expuestos los Técnicos durante la realización de las tareas de Mantenimiento.

To perform a comprehensive risk assessment for maintenance activities, the initial step involves hazard analysis. This entails delving into the root causes of issues, with the objective of eliminating what can be eradicated. Incorporating the perspectives of all parties involved, we can begin to establish a template that evolves and improves over time. Additionally, maintaining an open-door policy for receiving suggestions can further enhance the overall process.