Failure Avoidance through first line of defense
Mohammad Naseer Uddin BE (Mech) MLE, MLA-II, MLA-I, MLT-I, CRL, CMRP, VPR, VIM
![Mohammad Naseer Uddin BE (Mech) MLE, MLA-II, MLA-I, MLT-I, CRL, CMRP, VPR, VIM]()
Mohammad Naseer Uddin BE (Mech) MLE, MLA-II, MLA-I, MLT-I, CRL, CMRP, VPR, VIM
Reliability Manager at Asset Reliability and Arabian Technologies | Machinery Reliability Consultancy and Oil analysis
Going through my old files, I found some snapshots taken during the walk down checks many years ago. They reminded me of the conversation which I had with the Plant Operator.
When I asked him about my observations on the plant, he replied:
"Thats OK .... Whats wrong with it ? "
At that moment, I realised that there is a Big Problem, not only here on this plant but also in a lot of other companies too.
The operators should have the sense of understanding in identifying the Potential Failure Conditions, and should initiate the right mitigation action at the right time.
Plant Operators are the first line of defense in avoiding Failures.
Have a look yourself on some of these snapshots and share your thoughts.
Is it OK ?
The above photo is a Classic example of negligence showing an unsupported piping approx 10 meters long with a visible sagging of pipe. This is the Lube Oil Cooler piping of a Critical Centrifugal Compressor.
What could happen if this pipe breaks / leaks ???
Bottom Line:
1. Every Plant should have trained their Plant Operators to identify Potential Failure Conditions that could lead to failures.
2. Every identified Failure Avoidance Condition should be assessed based on its criticality / risks & consequences, and necessary mitigation actions should be taken based on their priority.
3. There must be some Reward structure in companies to motivate people to identify defects.
But before you proceed ahead, you should have to ask the following key questions,
1. Are the Operators at your plant encouraged to discover problems and defects at their plant?
2. Do the Operators at your plant have the skills needed to detect these problems and defects?
If the answer to any of the above two questions is "No", you then first have to essentially bridge the gap to make them "Yes" to avoid failures at your plant.
Don't Expect Reliability - By Rewarding Failures
Inspector de Equipos Estáticos.
7 年? Coordinador General QA/QC, Inspector Control de Calidad, con 24 a?os de experiencia. ? Experiencia soldadura de tuberías, planchas, estructura metálicas y equipos diferentes aleaciones. ? Utilización de los manejos de las Especificaciones de sandblasting y pintura de PDVSA. ? Conocimiento END (UT, PT, MT, RX) PMI; HOLIDAY DETECTOR. ? Manejo amplio en computación. ? Conocimiento en Isométricos y planos ? Hablo espa?ol (el idioma natural), inglés (Leyendo y Escribiendo fluidamente, hablando no fluidamente). ? Manejos de los Códigos, Normas y Especificaciones (AWS; ASME; ASTM; API) y (PDVSA)
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7 年yes i agree
Retired Ispection Supervisor at Saudi Aramco
7 年Very informative and useful
Director Aviation & Technical Systems
7 年Great article, thanks! I would like to comment on a comment: Of course, we shall not accept this "engineering" style. But these situations exist - so we need to deal with it when we find it. Lessons learned is another thing.
Consultant , Advisor , Trainer - Oil & Gas Industry , Yoga Instructor
7 年Well only thing I see from the picture is poor engineering - is it a good practice to construct a poorly engineered plant and then expect operator to find out what is bad ?? The acceptor of this plant can he go scott free ?? Change your mindset if you want SAFETY !! Poor engineering / construction should never be accepted !!