Risk Engineering

At A Glance

The fact is we don’t learn from our experience. Accidents continue to happen because safety rules are bypassed or ignored. Until the inevitable accident happens and everyone is wondering how it is possible to live with the problem without having seen the danger.

What is the Need for S&LP Audits

The fact that we often fail to learn from experience is commonplace. Time after time accidents occur because well established safe procedures and practices have been ignored or forgotten. Investigation will often reveal that the basic cause of an accident has been the steady deterioration of working practices since a plant was installed. It is incredible how quickly a well-constructed plant with clear procedures and safeguards can become unsafe without management or workers being aware. A short cut in procedures becomes accepted practice; a small malfunction of equipment is overcome by the operator and the ‘new’ procedure adopted as standard. And so it goes on, until the inevitable accident occurs and the manager cannot understand how he came to walk past the problem every day without seeing the hazard.

It is because of this that all responsible management sees the need to promote systematic and regular auditing of their safety procedures and practices.

It is the overall responsibility of management to ensure that operational related activities are adequately controlled. The responsibility covers both the human and physical elements, as accidents are often caused by failure to achieve control in these areas; accidents are not, as is often believed, the result of straightforward failures of technology, but also result from social, organizational and technical problems.

A major part of this responsibility is to make sure that personnel will not be exposed to hazards which they are unaware of or are unable to control. This implies high technical competence, but on its own it will not ensure a consistently safe place of work. The behavior of the human being in an advanced technological working place is also of fundamental importance. Hazards may cause accidents. One definition of hazards is that they are unsafe acts of persons, unsafe mechanical conditions or unsafe environmental conditions.

A safety audit is aimed at the reduction of exposure to all of the aforementioned conditions as part of an overall safety programmed. The adoption of this systematic approach has, in some companies, originated from their concern generated by major accidents, or an internal realization that safety standards may be falling, often brought about by better accident reporting and investigation.

It therefore becomes possible to publish criteria and lead plant management, with specialist assistance, into more objective analysis of their activity, with resulting improved standards becoming a useful tool for reducing accidents.

Objectives of Safety Audits

The objective of the safety audit is to evaluate the effectiveness of the company’s safety effort and make recommendations which lead to a reduction in accidents and minimization of loss potential.

Safety audits are an important part of a company’s control system and these checks ensure that deteriorating standards are detected.

Examination of the defects exposed in this review results in hazardous conditions and potential accidents being avoided.

Regular audits should be based on the premise that resources should be made available to identify and eliminate hazards before accidents occur, rather than use the resource of manpower and materials only after injuries and damage to equipment have resulted in human suffering, significant monetary loss which, in certain circumstances, affect the profitability severely.

Mistaken belief that management and sites are operating satisfactorily within the requirements of appropriate legislation/regulations and standards/codes of practice is eradicated, and the direct contact with individual workers has as its aim the resultant change in attitude and commitment to the use of safe working practices, which continual involvement and education generate.

The S&L Audit Practice

Safety audit practice subjects each area of a company’s activity to a systematic critical examination with the object of minimizing human suffering and monetary loss. Every component of the total system is included, e.g. management policy, attitudes training, features of the process, layout and construction of the plant, operating procedures, emergency plans, personal protection standards, accident records, etc.

An audit, as in the fields of accountancy, aims to disclose the strengths, the weaknesses and the main areas of vulnerability or risk, and is carried out by appropriately qualified personnel. It is important to ensure that the attitude of all personnel to safety audit practice is positive. It may need to be pointed out that the reason for the audit is to help the plant management to establish those areas within the plant where additional effort is required to ensure safety at all times. The audit is not there to find fault with the efforts of local manage. The safety audit is an aid to sound, safe, plant management.

The Time of Crisis

When crisis strikes it is not the time for knee-jerk reactions and spur of the moment improvisations. It is time for implementation of the plan and determination. For those who consider they should be promptly prepared. The time is now.

Who Do You Need

Of course you need people in the business who “know their job”. Most of all, you need someone who cares about your own business, at least as much as you and even more. Perhaps you don’t want some ‘small fry’ because they may not be up to your standards. Nor some ‘big guys’ because then maybe you will be the ‘small fry’.

We believe you need us.

Yet, what matters is what you believe. So, let’s talk, and find out for yourself about our in-depth knowledge and experience, and above all, our interest in doing business with you.

Because that is what counts most.

Thermography And Loss Control

Thermography is the use of an infrared imaging and measurement camera to show and measure thermal energy emitted from an object. The higher the object’s temperature, the greater the infrared radiation emitted.

Thermography cameras allow us to see beyond our physical sight. They produce images of invisible infrared or heat radiation and provide precise noncontact temperature measurement capabilities. Nearly everything gets hot before it fails, making infrared cameras extremely cost-effective non-disruptive  diagnostic tools in many diverse applications.

Infrared thermography is the only diagnostic technology that allows instant visualization and verification of thermal performance by searching out anomalies and allowing the thermographer to quantify them with precise, non-contact temperature measurement and document them automatically in seconds with professional easy-to-create infrared reports.

Infrared thermography is a proven effective, predictive maintenance (PM) technology that quickly, accurately and safely locates problems, prior to failure, indicated by thermal anomalies. Some studies have reported as much as a four-to-one return for every dollar spent on infrared inspection as a result of identifying potential component failures and preventing the much greater costs associated with production breakdown, property damage, potential casualty losses and liability claims.

Prevent Downtime, Failures & Liabilities

The infrared electrical systems inspection is typically conducted on a quarterly, semi-annual, or at least, annual basis as part of a regular preventive maintenance program. Also, upon installation of new equipment, a major repair, or upon a rebuild, with a follow-up inspection no more than one year later.

The infrared electrical testing allows for inspection of a large amount of electrical equipment in a short time as opposed to the alternative method of physically inspecting and tightening electrical connections. The infrared electrical systems survey locates faulty electrical items not generally found during a physical inspection.

During the infrared electrical systems inspection irregularities are revealed before they lead to an unscheduled outage, equipment damage or a fire. Today’s facilities engineers are avoiding costly expenses with scheduled infrared electrical surveys. An infrared electrical systems survey scan can substantially improve profitability and reduce your operating, testing and maintenance costs by offering the following benefits:

• Quickly pinpoints electrical systems problems
• Reduces downtime and electrical equipment damage
• Prevents catastrophic and costly system failures
• Allows engineers and facility managers to establish repair priorities
• Drastically improves preventive maintenance efficiency
• Can be tested under load to avoid costly system shutdowns

Our dedicated Thermographers certified for their skill, knowledge, and experience, inspect your electrical equipment under normal loads and operating conditions with no need to interrupt system production. By performing thorough and in depth scan of your system we can bring to light and help you understand the practical impacts of emerging or existing electrical component complications.

The EXL Infrared Electrical Inspection Report is your “necessary” management tool that documents the findings of interest, with a complete condition inventory of all items inspected, and comments and suggestions for improvement.

Analysis of thermography data can assist you in the detection of a wide range of issues in systems and structures including, moisture intrusion, missing or damaged insulation, overloaded circuits, faulty wiring, loose electrical connections, failing lubricants, refrigeration defects and heating systems malfunctions.

Cost-Effective Results

Performing an infrared inspection that will provide the best information and greatest savings possible requires skilled personnel working together as a team.

Thermography itself is an interpretive skill, and should be performed by someone who is qualified and experienced. Owning a thermographic camera does not make one a thermographer anymore than owning a video camera makes one as a television director.

Starting a new maintenance program is not always easy, and when a new program also incorporates a new technology, such as infrared thermography, success may seem elusive. The difference between success and failure is simply getting the best people for the job and the right equipment in place. As easy as that sounds, it can’t happen without an organized approach that will integrate infrared thermography inspections into an existing predictive maintenance program.

A final word:

Any service will only be as good as the program specifications and the training, certification, experience and responsibilities of the technicians involved, and then only to the extent that the technology utilized will allow.

• Leak Detection In Compressed Air, Steam, Vacuum, Gaseous Fluid Networks
• Medium And High Voltage Electrical Inspection
• Steam Trap & Valves Inspection
• Bearing Condition & Lubrication Inspection
• Pump Cavitation Detection
• Ultrasonic Tightness Testing