Integrity Cards

Constructive Conversations

The Construction industry is infamous for its high casualty numbers. It is recognised as a high hazard industry with a wide range of activities involving building, alteration/repair and demolition.

Construction workers engage in many activities that may expose themselves to serious hazards with both acute (immediate) and chronic (long-term) effects.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) highlights the following statistics:

Construction is among the most hazardous industries. In economically advanced countries, construction workers are 3 to 4 times more likely to have a fatal accident at work than other workers. Many more suffer from ill-health and die from occupational diseases arising from accumulated exposure to hazardous substances. In less developed countries, the risks associated with construction work are 3 to 6 times greater. Work-related accidents and ill-health come at direct and indirect costs for businesses and societies, let alone the incommensurable suffering and loss that workers and their families bear.

It is not uncommon on mega-projects (or projects of any signfiicant size) to employ a diverse workforce with different:

Contractors & Countries (payments & conditions)
Culture & Complacency (attitude to risk)
Competence
Communication (language)

Construction Safety Cards are designed to provide a common ‘Visual Vocabulary‘ to enage (and keep engaged) international (and also local) workforces so that they are aware of Hazards, recognise Threats & respect Controls.

The decks include Performance Influencing Factors cards that can contribute to errors with potentially fatal consequences.

Click the icon below to access our Construction Safety page:

For more information on all our cards & initiatives – please contact us.

All materials (physical cards/boxes and digital cards/platforms) can be customised to match your technical & local languages – please visit our Options page for more details.

If you’d like to subscribe to future updates, please submit your email address below – many thanks for your interest.

Incidentally

We have now completed our 1st deck of Incidents Cards based on 52 famous (and less well known) Process Safety (Loss of Primary Containment) events researched, evaluated & summarised by Peter Marsh of XBP Refining.

These have been peer reviewed by members of the IChemE Safety & Loss Prevention Special Interest Group.

Their work is documented as a Lessons Learned Database which is free to download by clicking the image below:

_{Click to download Major Process Safety Incident vs Root Cause Map}

A 2nd deck is already in development which will visualise & operationalise the 100+ incidents investigated by the US Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board.

_{Click to access the CSB Investigations}

Cards

Key aspects of each Incident are illustrated as shown below

These are described on the Incidents Cards page which can be accessed via the icon below:

Cards have a Top Trumps layout similar to the SDS cards and can be used (played) in a variety of ways e.g. discuss if/how this incident relates to our operations or simply who holds the most ‘severe’ card is either the winner or loser – the prize or forfeit to be decided by the team.

The Process Incidents cards use the following iconography:

Hazards

Industries

Contributing Factors

Using the Root Cause Map, Proximate (immediate) and/or Root Causes are indicated by up to 10 of the following Process Safety Management (PSM) elements (cards):

For more information on all our cards & initiatives – please contact us. All materials (physical cards/boxes and digital cards/platforms) can be customised to match your technical & local languages – please visit our Options page for more details.

If you’d like to subscribe to future updates, please submit your email address below – many thanks for your interest.

Don’t Gamble with Safety

Inspired by playing cards created by ICI and Esso, we designed our decks to be informal as well as informative, fun as well as functional to provide Users (‘Players’) with a familiar format to learn through gamification e.g. to play ‘conventional’ card games with their teammates or co-workers.

However, we recognise (and respect) that different Cultures, Countries & Companies have specific restrictions or prohibitions on gambling & gambling materials.

To increase & sustain the awareness of frontline personnel to potentially hazardous events within these organisations, we’ve removed all gaming references but retained the same iconography to provide a clear consistent visual language that can be utilised on cards, magnets or digital platforms.

For example (as shown below) cards can be produced (in different languages) to challenge Users to consider (identify) Threats (Causes) and Barriers (Controls) associated with each hazardous event. This provides a useful introduction to Bowties and enhanced scenario understanding.

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2022 Mary Kay O’Connor Safety & Risk Conference

We will be presenting “Process Safety Cards – Visualizing Knowledge & Operationalizing Wisdom” at the forthcoming Mary Kay O’Connor Safety & Risk Conference in College Station, TX .

This event, in association with the IChemE and C-RISE, has the tag line “Health to Human is Safety to System: Making Safety Second Nature” and we aim to show how cards can be used to embed & retain Safety (and Integrity) knowledge so that it can become second nature i.e. intuitive & instinctive.

If you’d like to subscribe to future updates, please submit your email address below – many thanks for your interest.

SLOPE

Simple Layer of Protection Exercise

The CCPS book “Layer of Protection Analysis: Simplified Process Risk Assessment” has been the definitive reference for performing Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) since it was published in 2001.

LOPA is a simplified form of risk assessment which typically uses order of magnitude categories for Initiating Event Frequency (IEF), Consequence severity, and the likelihood (probability) of failure of Independent Protection Layers (IPLs) or Conditional Modifiers (CMs) to approximate the risk of a scenario.

To help explain the principles to stakeholders (Operational and/or Management for example) who are less familiar with the concept, we’ve developed a simple card game or training exercise which can be played digitally (as shown in the video below) or physically with customised playing cards.

Click Watch on YouTube for Captions

The basic rules are relatively simple – the aim is to reduce the likelihood of a randomly selected hazardous event or scenario by assembling a collection of appropriate protection layers using order of magnitude frequencies & probabilities.

Up to 4 players can construct a Scenario (each are assigned a row).
Start by drawing (click to flip) from the Cause deck and place on the left-hand holder – this has a value according to the initiating event frequency (1 = Most frequent to 6 = Least frequent).
Draw a card from the Consequence deck and place on the 2nd from left holder – this has a value according to the tolerable/target event frequency (1 = Most tolerable to 6 = Least tolerable).
The aim is to create a Mitigated Event score to be equal to or less than the Target score. Subtract the Cause value from the Consequence value to get the gap which has to be closed by one or more Control cards
- e.g. a Cause (card) with a value of 1 which could lead to a Consequence (card) with a value of 4 requires a risk reduction of 3. This could be a single Control with a value of 3 or several controls whose values add up to 3 or more.
Draw a card from the Controls deck and place on the 3rd from left holder – this has a value according to the risk reduction it provides (1 = Least effective to 3 = Most effective).
Players take it in turn to draw from the Controls deck to create their scenario. Once you’ve drawn a Controls card, play moves on.
The winner is the first to close the gap (or better i.e. if they reduce the risk more than required).

Rules:

If a Controls card has a zero value e.g. inadequate human response or ignition control, then they have to put the card in the bin (they can’t develop their scenario until their next turn) and play passes to the next person.
If a Controls card is similar to the Cause e.g. both BPCS or both Human, then they have to put the card in the bin and play passes to the next person.
If a Controls card is similar to another Controls card in their scenario e.g. both pressure relief or ignition control or SIF, then they have to put the card in the bin and play passes to the next person.
If a Controls card is not an appropriate mitigation measure e.g. reduced occupancy for an Environmental or Financial consequence, then they have to put the card in the bin and play passes to the next person.

Formats:

Tables can be configured in a number of different ways (click on images to enlarge):

Bowtie

Threats (Causes) on the Left
Consequences on the Right
Barriers (Controls) in between

PHA (HAZOP)

Causes on the Left
Consequences next right
Safeguards (Controls) to the right

LOPA

Consequences on the Left
Causes next right
Protection Layers (Controls) to the right

Variations:

Players have to describe the cards they’ve deal e.g. give an example from their experience. If they cannot give an appropriate explanation, they cannot play that card and it goes into the bin stack.
Cards can be customised to suit corporate or industry types & values e.g.

In this prototype, examples from the CCPS LOPA book have been used to illustrate the principles. .

Causes

Causes are taken from Table 5.1 (Initiating Events):

Note that the following Causes are not frequencies:

Crane Load Drop (per lift)
LOTO Failure (per opportunity)
Trained, Unstressed, Not Fatigued Operator Failure (per opportunity)

For simplicity, the game should assume that these occur at 1 lift or opportunity per year.

Consequences

Consequences are illustrative only.

Controls

Controls are taken from Table 6.3 (Passive IPL), Table 6.4 (Active IPL), Table 6.5 (Human IPL) & Figure 7.1 (Ignition Controls).

Guidance

Cards and games are not intended to replace proper analysis conducted by competent & experienced personnel. For more guidance on the principles of Layer of Protection Analysis, please click on the images below:

Cards (and digital game boards) can be branded to suit and physical cards can be created in magnetic format to play in a workshop environment.

If you’d like to subscribe to future updates, please submit your email address below – many thanks for your interest.

Lessons Remembered

The recent tragedy at Aqaba Port is a constant reminder that we need to be vigilant to the potential Loss of Containment events that may have long lasting effects on or in the community. Life continues to move on for all of us, however those directly and indirectly affected by this incident will never forget.

Industries have a long established culture of sharing Lessons Learned, however that learning may be static, stale or transient whereas what we really need is not just Learning, but Remembering (at or before the point/time of use/need) followed by appropriate Corrective & Preventive Action.

Potential

Safety Data Sheet (SDS) cards highlight the hazards associated with the assets & activities.

Problems

Loss of Containment (LoC) cards highlight how the integrity of equipment & transfer systems can be compromised or breached.

Process Safety (Containment Integrity) Card

Cards can be enhanced with QR Codes which direct the User/Player to more detailed information:

Click QR Code for sample information on Dropped Objects

Protection

Scenarios (in Bowtie format) visualise how Loss of Containment or Control can be prevented with an emphasis of Degradation Factors to highlight how barriers can be compromised:

The Consequences (Effects) fo the Loss of Control/Containment will depend on the materials handled (hazards & inventory) and the conditions (pressure & temperature) under which they are processed or stored. The right hand side of the bowtie is therefore asset/activity specific.

Predicaments

Incidents Cards summarise WHAT, WHEN, WHERE & WHO to provide accessible, portable & memorable tools to inform Novices and remind Veterans that they must be vigilant, not complacent – it can and might just happen to you and/or your colleagues:

QR codes on the cards direct the User/Player to more detailed information on the incident e.g. WHY:

Click QR Code for sample information on Aqaba Port

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Managing the Safety of Processes

Our Process Safety Management (PSM) cards have been updated to represent a full set of human characters to act as a reminder that we need people to execute the processes and procedures within PSM frameworks. Cards are organised into the following topics:

Organisation

Analysis & Implementation

Operation & Maintenance

Excursions & Modifications

The PSM manual has been developed with the invaluable assistance of Ian Travers who has developed an online Process Safety Audit tool:

_{click icon for information on the Audit tool}

The virtual manual is available on YouTube via the link below:

For more information on all our cards & initiatives – please contact us.

If you’d like to subscribe to future updates, please submit your email address below – many thanks for your interest.

Magnetic Attraction

To help embed and retain your key asset & activity integrity values, we’ve developed card size magnets that can be attached to a variety of metal surfaces.

Magnets provide the same opportunity to Visualize Knowledge and Operationalize Wisdom as our cards, however these weather-resistant designs offer both fixed and portable ways to inform and remind stakeholders in an accessible and memorable way.

Magnets can be deployed in a number of internal & external operational areas:

These can be produced to communicate a range of topics:

CONCERNS e.g. Loss of Containment
CAUSES e.g. Ignition Sources
CONTROLS e.g. Precautions
CHEMICALS e.g. Materials
CULTURE e.g. Management
CATASTROPHES e.g. Incidents

For more information on all our magnets, cards & initiatives – please contact us.

If you’d like to subscribe to future updates, please submit your email address below – many thanks for your interest.

Hazards 32

We’ve signed a sponsorship agreement with the IChemE to provide our Process Safety Cards at the forthcoming Hazards 32 Process Safety Conference

This will take place in the historic & beautiful spa town of Harrogate from 18-20 Oct 2022 and marks the return of this international event to a face-to-face format.

Each attendee will receive a special edition pack of our Loss of Containment cards in their delegate bag.

We look forward to meeting you there !

For more information on all our cards & initiatives – please contact us.

If you’d like to subscribe to future updates, please submit your email address below – many thanks for your interest.

Incident Infographics

_{Texas City Incident Card | Image Source: CSB}

Today marks another anniversary of the BP Texas City Refinery explosion of March 23^rd 2005.

There is no doubt that Incident Investigation reports provide valuable insight into the immediate and root causes of major accidents like this, however can you really digest & communicate all the key messages and apply the lessons which have been (painfully) learned?

The final CSB report was 341 pages long and inspired or instigated a number of related publications, including – perhaps most famously – ‘Failure to Learn‘ by Andrew Hopkins which (at 171 pages) is half as much again – undoubtedly invaluable but still quite a hefty read for time-poor stakeholders.

Learning is not necessarily the issue – it’s remembering/recalling those lessons just before they become relevant i.e. at the point of use (need) by frontline personnel, those who are interacting with hazardous materials or energy, who may benefit from taking a beat or pausing to reflect on what has happened in the past on the same or similar facilities.

Incidents Cards can be used to inform or remind personnel of related excursions, incidents or accidents with relative ranking of key information as well as QR code links to relevant material. These could be company or industry events that help facilitate discussions on the effects of loss of control.

Incident Infographics can be digitally connected to cards; capturing and communicating the key points on a single page using Barrier Failure Analysis (BFA) diagrams, they provide a simple, but powerful, summary of the progressive failure (or absence) of barriers which allowed a threat to escalate to the ultimate consequences.

_{Barrier Failure Analysis (BFA ) overview}

BFA also provides depth of understanding, where the ultimate or proximate (Primary) cause(s) of the barrier failure are explained by (or traced back to) related (and sometimes remote) Secondary or root (Tertiary) causes or initiating events.

The individual barrier failure types are explained below:

These BFA diagrams and infographics can be created for company or industry incidents to represent the key points (times) in the incident where barriers were called upon to act but were unable to prevent the outcome.

Knowing (and remembering) WHAT failed, HOW it failed and WHY it failed and then addressing the causes at source, could help avoid history repeating itself.

Here’s a relevant & timely example for the incident on this date 17 years ago:

For more information on Incidents cards and/or Incident Infographics & Barrier Failure Analysis– please contact us.

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