GAS DETECTION & MONITORING
A SMOOTH TURNAROUND
Turnarounds at oil and gas refineries, chemical plants, power facilities and other industrial facilities are necessary events that require significant planning. They are essential to keeping all equipment performing at its best. These preventive maintenance times, usually occurring in the spring or autumn when the weather is mildest, can last from weeks to months.
Unlike a normal day on the job, turnarounds are complex events that can encompass up to 150,000 different activities. There are several key factors that can raise the level of risk at the plant during a turnaround, including:
PEOPLE Additional workers come in during a turnaround, including contractors, agency workers and temporary workers. This can add thousands of extra people to a worksite, even doubling or tripling the workforce in some cases. More people, especially those who don’t normally work at the plant, means elevated risk. It is critical for all these workers to have proper personal protective equipment (PPE), gas detection and safety training.
MACHINERY To clean, repair and eventually reinstate the machinery at the plant, additional equipment and vehicles must be brought in during a turnaround. This could include cutting and welding equipment as well as equipment to power wash machinery and soften deposits. Some of these turnaround activities cause increased exposure to gasses. With more vehicles on site, the collision risk increases as well.
LOCATION CHALLENGES Executing a turnaround means that people are entering parts of the plant that are not built for humans, whether to make repairs or install new equipment. Workers must enter confined spaces, including shafts, manholes, tunnels and tanks, which increases their potential exposure to toxic gas build-up or risk of oxygen deficiency. In a confined space, they also can experience restricted movement, reduced lighting and communications capabilities and rescue challenges.
NOISE The additional machinery and vehicles coming into the plant during a turnaround inevitably creates more noise. A study on hearing loss prevalence by industry found that roughly 61% of all workers in oil and gas
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www.tomorrowshs.com
Sarah Martin, President of Honeywell Sensing & Safety Technologies, shares expert guidance on maximising safety when an entire industrial process unit is taken offline for maintenance, inspection and upgrades.
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