View & Thoughts

Covid-19 Pandemic Should Make Us More Vigilant in Workplace Safety and Health

Image credit: Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (Private) Limited (PCS)|||
|||

By Lucas Ng Hong Kiang

General Manager of Plant, Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (Private) Limited (PCS);
Chairman of Jurong Island Vision Zero Group, Workplace Safety & Health Council (WSHC)

Keywords: pandemic, business continuity, communication, risk based, new normal

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has awaken many people all over the globe in many ways. It spans from the way of living pertaining to health, to the environmental aspects generally, and to the workplace safety and health. In oil & gas, chemical and petrochemical industry with high hazard installations, the pandemic should make us more vigilant in the way we plan, organise, manage and execute our daily activities safely. In particular, the process safety aspects to ensure essential facility maintenance works are carried out adequately to reduce any risk to as low as reasonably practicable. How to ensure operations are performed safely with tight manning is another concern due to the availability of operators at site via split-teams arrangement to prevent cross-infection. The ultimate challenge is to continue this new normal for a considerable period of time, managing various changes, in sustaining total workplace safety and health excellence, vision zero.

Unprecedented Pandemic

As I write this article while working from home, the COVID-19 [1] caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has infected more than 15 million with about 620 thousand deaths globally. The situation in some countries is still very challenging to manage. In Singapore, the current COVID-19 situation is being managed under the post-Circuit Breaker Phase-2 reopening [2] where safe management measures are put in place across the entire nation to prevent the second wave of spreading.

Anticipate the Unexpected – Business Continuity Plan

PCS has developed its formal Business Continuity Plan (BCP) back in 2006, which includes influenza pandemic readiness and response plan. It also incorporated scenarios pertaining to process safety incidents. This plan is largely learning from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) [3] in 2003, with subsequent refinement in anticipation of a future pandemic potentially arising from H5N1, H7N9 avian influenza [4] or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [5].

With the outbreak of COVID-19, the existing BCP is very helpful in promptly responding to government declaration of Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) Orange alert level in February 2020. Prior to the DORSCON Orange, PCS commenced its precautionary measures such as personal hygiene based on its existing Disease Outbreak Response System (DORS) in late January 2020.

Communicate Seamlessly – PDCA

There are two working teams, the BCP Team and DORS Team, working seamlessly to provide guidelines to both employees and contractors based on the evolving advisories provided by the multi-ministry task force of Singapore government.  Split-team for both site-essential staff and non-site essential staff are required to ensure minimum cross-contamination, practice safe distancing guideline as part of safe management measures. Non-site essential staff are working from home and communicating via virtual platform with teleconferencing. It is natural that PDCA cycle becomes effective in improving current plans by reviewing their effectiveness, constraints and potential risks that might impact the business continuity. The mechanism of checks in making sure that prompt corrective measures in minimising cross-infection are put in place. It goes on.

Maintain Sense of Vulnerability

Under such unprecedented situation with prolonged duration, it must maintain close communication amongst different groups of workforce, both employees and contractors. In today’s technology, one can have regular messages and reminders sent via smart phone to employees and contractors to remind them of maintaining vigilance, focus and eliminate complacency on workplace safety and health.

It should also regularly highlight the critical equipment maintenance, their operating conditions and also not to miss any shift routine tasks in view of tight manning as often at its minimum requirement due to resource constraint. It must also emphasise appropriate attention on inventory of high hazards, reactive and polymerisation potential, with adequate condition monitoring and ensuring plant fixed fire protection and emergency equipment are readily available and functional.

It must always anticipate organisational changes. The Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) published a monograph [6] “Risk Based Process Safety during Disruptive Times” in April 2020. This article is very timely and useful as a reference to owner to review its process plant installations via risk based approach for process safety gaps closure in current situation.

Anticipate Organisational Changes

Under the BCP and DORS enforcement with respect to the pandemic situation, any employees and/or contractors being on sick leave and/or mandatory isolation requirement add on to the already tight manning due to split-team arrangement. As such, it should treat such changes as part of process safety management of change (MOC) with assessing the current risks and corrective measures. One possible scenario is that to re-assign staff in self-isolation (but not sick) work remotely on other tasks that could relieve workload of those site-essential staff at work site.

However, management has to ensure clarity with no confusion due to the change of person in-charge, also to ensure that the person assigned must have adequate competency for the tasks. It must assign trainers who are ready to train newly recruited workers to maintain staffing level. The method of training becomes challenging in view of many constraints in classroom type of training, on-the-job training perhaps is more practical and effective.

For contractors’ human resource constraint due to dormitory lockdown, mutual support at work site is also possible. One example is that owner can allow flexibility of scaffold contractor A’s roles cover by contractor B, should contractor A under mandatory isolation. Again, such organisational change is unprecedented!

Manage Deferrals – Risk Based Process Safety

In view of human resource constraints of service providers including contractors, certain activities unable to carry out during COVID-19 situation that led to deferral of equipment integrity inspection, risk based process safety guidelines during disruptive times becomes very relevant. It reminds us the importance of keeping equipment historical inspection data and their process and operating conditions that might impact equipment integrity and determine the extent of deferral possible. HAZOP / transient HAZOP studies would help to determine the deferral too.

Nonetheless, owner should manage deferrals effectively without compromising process safety, and to regularise as soon as practicable to avoid cascading effect on statutory inspection of equipment.

Take Ownership and Partner with Service Providers

With the BCP and DORS put in place, senior management should not micro-manage under COVID-19 situation though require more intensive communication with its teams. Instead management should support the evolving situation with organisational changes, in particular with the external service providers. Owner partners with service providers including facilities maintenance contractors should strike a balance in terms of additional resources arrangement for the win-win outcome in such unprecedented situation through close communication.

Conclusion

It is never too late to formalise the corporate business continuity plan complete with the disease outbreak response system in the midst of COVID-19 situation for total workplace safety and health. When required, management should take ownership and responsibility to have a timely major transformation in meeting the evolving advisories for safe management measures to eliminate virus infection at work site. The ultimate objective is to ensure healthy workforce in safe workplace with zero injury as a vision.

References

[1] Wikipedia, “Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome_coronavirus_2#:~:text=SARS%2DCoV%2D2,~34%25) , accessed on 20 July 2020

[2] Minister Lawrence Wong, “COVID-19: Phase 2 of post-circuit breaker reopening could begin before end-June”, https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-phase-2-of-post-circuit-breaker-reopening-before-june-12779946 , accessed 20 July 2020

[3] WHO, “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)”, https://www.who.int/health-topics/severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome#tab=tab_1 , accessed 21 July 2020

[4] WHO, “Human infection with avian influenza A(H5) viruses”, H5N1, H7N9 avian influenza, https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/wpro---documents/emergency/surveillance/avian-influenza/ai-20200710.pdf?sfvrsn=30d65594_64 , accessed 21 July 2020

[5] WHO, “Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)”, https://www.who.int/emergencies/mers-cov/en/ , accessed 22 July 2020

[6] The Center for Chemical process Safety (CCPS) monograph, “Risk Based Process Safety during Disruptive Times”, April 2020, https://www.aiche.org/sites/default/files/html/544906/RBPS-during-COVID-19-and-Similar-Disruptive-times.html , accessed 22 July 2020 

Image