{"id":1208,"date":"2011-09-01T06:00:01","date_gmt":"2011-09-01T11:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jmcampbell.com\/tip-of-the-month\/?p=1208"},"modified":"2012-10-23T08:22:19","modified_gmt":"2012-10-23T13:22:19","slug":"analyzing-engineering-tasks-to-minimize-or-eliminate-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jmcampbell.com\/tip-of-the-month\/2011\/09\/analyzing-engineering-tasks-to-minimize-or-eliminate-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Analyzing Engineering Tasks to Minimize or Eliminate Mistakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the April, 2011, Tip of the Month (TOTM), we looked at a simple, graphical representation of process safety competency.\u00a0 This TOTM will follow up on that by asking a simple question:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen examining catastrophic incidents, what are the typical mistakes that engineers make?\u201d<\/p>\n

This question was asked of me at a lunch and learn session I conducted for a client where I had described the competency pyramid introduced in the April TOTM.\u00a0 At the time, I thought, what a good question.\u00a0 I replied, I have to think about that.\u00a0 After reflecting for a bit, I went to the pyramid.<\/p>\n

\"Figure<\/a><\/p>\n

Looking at the pyramid, it seems to me that a lot of an engineer\u2019s duties revolve around the \u201cEquipment\u201d and \u201cMitigation\u201d levels.\u00a0 It is here that separators are sized; pumps are chosen; inherently safer design is incorporated into a process; safety instrumented systems (SIS) are designed; pressure safety valve (PSV) sizing is calculated.\u00a0 Refer to the April TOTM again.\u00a0 \u201cTo become a well rounded professional in the oil and gas industry, no matter what specialty position a person works in, requires varying degrees of competency in many different areas of expertise.\u00a0 Obtaining higher level competencies is a continuous process of training and performing tasks, sometimes under the direction of a mentor or coach.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It could be that the typical mistakes made by engineers are a result of competency with equipment and mitigation measures.\u00a0 Consider some information from JMC\u2019s Process Safety Engineering course, PS 4<\/strong>.\u00a0 This table lists the area of responsibility for incidents [1].<\/p>\n

\"Table<\/a><\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The item “inspection during operation” includes some items that are not always the responsibility of the inspection department:\n
      \n
    1. Vibration monitoring for rotating equipment.<\/li>\n
    2. Corrosion probes<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    3. The item “inspection of process fluids” includes:\n
        \n
      1. Flammable-gas detection in shutdown, and in tanks during operation<\/li>\n
      2. Inspection of purchased and process fluids to determine whether they are the ones specified.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
      3. The average incident has 1.56 responsibilities<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        How many of the items on the list are engineering functions and which of them could be related to competency?\u00a0 I suppose it could be argued that almost all are related to engineering functions if it is accepted that engineers provide the design, recommend inspections and maintenance tasks, provide significant information needed for development of operating procedures and have historically been assigned management responsibilities in the oil and gas industry.\u00a0 Which are related to competency?\u00a0 That is much more difficult to answer and could only be answered by individual organizations based on performance reviews and competency mapping.<\/p>\n

        The April, 2010, TOTM discussed the need to perform a good job task analysis to identify personal and process safety hazards.\u00a0 While the checklist presented there can be modified to allow engineering personnel to analyze engineering tasks, there is a simpler way to insure that engineers reduce the likelihood of mistakes in their work.\u00a0 Ask the following six questions about any project or job that is being done.\u00a0 If each question is answered fully, the job should be performed mistake free.<\/p>\n