SCENARIO

You have a dual role as an experienced and respected Process Operator and a representative of
workers at a large, high hazard site, run by an international chemical manufacturing organisation.
The organisation has a reputation for having a world-class health and safety culture, with many other
industries using them as a benchmark. It is a legally compliant organisation that sets clear objectives
and checks that they are met. It employs and retains motivated workers who are aware of their
clearly defined and documented responsibilities and want to continuously improve in their roles.
Absence and sickness rates are low. The organisation listens to workers when they raise concerns
and responds professionally to external customer complaints. The organisation also takes pride in
recording low accident and incident rates and investigating any near misses to learn lessons and
prevent more serious outcomes. Across the organisation there are clear lines of internal and external
communication. This allows effective resolution of complaints. The organisation is fully insured even
though the premium is high. The organisation conducts frequent internal audits and is also externally
audited.

The process you operate is running at a reduced production rate, due to a technical problem with a
large storage tank containing a highly toxic product. You have an idea what the problem is, but
knowing the limits of your authority, you feel the issue should be escalated to someone more senior.
Local site managers, engineers, supervisors and operators meet to discuss the situation. They
conclude that the tank has an internal blockage, that would normally require a complete process
shutdown to clear. However, the planned maintenance shutdown is 12-months away. They decide to
seek advice from the corporate management team to explore whether there is a different solution that
would resolve the blockage problem, but keep production going.

The local site and corporate management teams meet by video conference. The corporate
management team includes a very experienced senior engineer with 25-years’ company service.
This engineer has overseen process plant modifications, at many international sites, with zero lost
time incidents. They all agreed that modifications could safely be made to the tank, without the need
to shut it down, and that the necessary resources would be made available for this work.

The senior engineer is sent to the site to advise on, and manage, the changes that are needed to the
tank; and on the day of arrival presents a solution to you. You are unfamiliar with the technology to
be used for the modification and your reaction is one of disbelief, and you politely ask if the engineer
is serious. The engineer invites you to a meeting to conduct a systematic and detailed risk
assessment of the tank modification task. The Health and Safety Adviser, worker representatives and
Plant Manager will also be at the meeting.

At the meeting, the engineer introduces the proposed tank modification and leads the risk
assessment exercise. The risk assessment includes consideration of the highly toxic chemical, the
release of which would be catastrophic for workers, as well as people in adjacent businesses,
residential houses and schools. The engineer confirms that this proposed modification method is a
safe and widely used solution where the safety improvements are worth the cost.

Collectively, these precautions and control measures reduce high risk to low risk.
A summary of the risk assessment is circulated to all workers likely to be affected by the proposed
modification. The full version of the risk assessment will be made available on request.
The risk assessment then continues with discussion and agreement on risk evaluation, existing
control measures and any additional control measures necessary. Some of these control measures
include safe systems of work, a permit-to-work system, supplementary emergency arrangements and
suitable induction training for all contractors.

Prior to commencing the work, a permit-to-work is issued to the contractors carrying out the tank
modification. The permit-to-work includes an explanation about the associated risk assessment and
how the plant has been safely prepared for this non-routine modification. The contract workers
accept the permit-to-work with the necessary precautions, including wearing of specified personal
protective equipment. Precautions listed on the permit-to-work are also communicated to all
contractors and other plant workers who may be affected.
The permit-to-work explains that precautions will be enforced, along with any other site rules, by
active monitoring. This will be done while you carry out routine plant checks and simultaneously
check on the progress of the modification.
To confirm safe working and clarify overall expectations, you, along with an independent site contact
have been nominated to monitor and liaise with the contractors.

The independent site contact will also actively monitor and check additional expectations, such as
contractor site entry and exit control, resolution of any queries and the supervision standard. You and
the independent site contact will check to see whether the modification work is being controlled and
is progressing as planned.

This is consistent with the organisation’s safe system of work based on the findings of the risk
assessment and the method statement provided by the contractor, the aim being to complete the job
safely without incident.

Findings from inspections form part of the overall health and safety performance review. The
performance review enables an overall assessment of opportunities for continuous improvement
within the site and reveals any need for change.

Task 7: Managing contractors

Answer: By these following points the organization will manage the contractors effectively:
1. The client organization is a well reputed organization for having a world-class health and safety
culture, so they may have hired the right contractors who also have the previous experiences of
carrying out similar type of work.

2. Before starting the job, contractors would have submitted the method statement of the work to be
carried out. Once the client agreed about the method statements, the job will be carried out in the
monitoring of the client by routine plant checks and simultaneously check on the progress of the
modification.

3. Hence the client have hired the competent & reputed contractors, the contractors also might have
the proper licence and certifications on the basis of health & safety. So they might know how to
perform the job safely.

4. As the contractors accept the permit-to-work, they might aware about the hazards involved in the
job. So before starting the work, they have to follow the risk assessments which are proposed by the
client.

5. The contractors would deploy competent workers who might have the proper training to perform
their specific job perfectly and safely, as the modification job is hazardous by itself.

6. The contractors’ would bring the equipment and tools that should meet the required national and
the companies’ own standards.

7. The organization would ensure that whether the contractor’s equipment are suitable for the task
and the environment in which they would be used.

8. Some special control measures, safe systems of work, emergency arrangements and evacuation
process, suitable induction trainings would be provide to the contractor workers.

9. As the contractor workers have taken necessary trainings for the modification job, they would start
the job by taking safety precautions including wearing proper PPEs.
10. The organization would check to see whether the modification work is being controlled and is
progressing as planned.