PiperAlpha: 20 Years on
On 6 July 1988, at about 10.00pm, Occidental's Piper Alpha platform, operating 120 miles off the north east coast of Scotland, exploded in a ball of flames 120m high. 167 people died and many others were horrifically injured as they jumped or fell into the sea 30m below. The insured loss was £1.7 billion. Lord Cullen's ensuing inquiry revealed a catalogue of management failings, as well as construction, engineering and operational inadequacies that would be inconceivable today.
The benefit of hindsight now
BP's long awaited report into the causes of its oil rig explosion and the worst oil spill in US history is finally out (page 8). The Deepwater Horizon saga makes grim reading, providing, as it does, a detailed study of the sequence of events BP believes led to the disaster – and the engineering, training and human inadequacies behind them.
The cost of complacency
If there is one lesson that emerges in the wake of last month's conclusion to the 2005 Buncefield disaster prosecution, it surely is the importance of vigilance. And that applies to all plants, not just to those in the chemicals, oil and gas industries that may be subject to the COMAH (Control of Major Accident Hazards) regulations.
Health and Safety North
Health and Safety North, the third in the regional series this year, claims to offers plant engineers a valuable learning and networking experience. Brian Wall reports
Hidden hazards
Did you know that if dry wire wool - think of discarded Brillo pads - comes into contact with a dead nine-volt battery, it can spontaneously combust? Or that dust - for that matter, even sugar or custard powder - can ignite and unleash a fireball? Or that air enriched with just three per cent oxygen is lethal - burning everything in its path at twice the normal rate?
Shock tactics
About 1,000 accidents at work involving electric shock or burns – of which around 30 prove fatal – are still reported to the HSE annually. Brian Wall investigates procedures that could prevent needless deaths
Fail to danger
Most toxic and flammable gas detectors feature the fundamental flaw of failing to danger. Dr Tom Shelley looks at the problem and some useful solutions
Fire hazard
Fire in an engineering environment is likely to have far more serious consequences than in almost any other industrial premises.
Fire Safety - That looks like smoke...
By observing the behaviour of smoke as it rises, a vision system can give early warning of a fire developing, long before it becomes serious. It is especially useful in large areas, such as big factories and aircraft hangars, and where there is a layer of hot air, ordinarily just underneath the roof, blanketing sensors.
Fire safety – after Grenfell
In the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, building inspectors and engineering surveyors must now assess the degree of fire protection in similar buildings. Brian Wall asks: Without adequate blueprints or records to fall back on, how are they to achieve this?