Yearly plant maintenance or turnaround is the biggest event for a chemical manufacturing plant.
In a turnaround, almost all equipment is opened, checked, repaired, or overhauled. Many personnel – with various skill levels and experiences – are involved.
At the same time, various kinds of hazardous chemicals are exposed to the atmosphere, personnel, and wastewater line.
Various heavy equipment is also used to support the various kind of turnaround jobs, which are non-routine jobs in the majority.
Like any other project, the turnaround has to be completed within a determined schedule – in general, it lays between 16-21 days.
All the above-described turnaround conditions contribute to creating complex hazards; chemical hazards, fall hazards, slip hazards, stress hazards, mechanical hazards, so on.
Improper handling of the above situation will lead to injury, property damage, or even fatal accident.
That’s why it is very important to remind all of the personnel who involve in turnaround to stay safe.
Turnaround Safety Topic
Sometimes, it is not easy to choose the right turnaround safety topic to be delivered day by day during the turnaround.
To help you get the ideas, I have listed some of the most important turnaround safety topics that you can use for a safety briefing, safety talk, or safety toolbox meeting.
Here they are …
- How to get safety work permit before doing any job
- Special safety work permit for confined space
- How to extend safety work permit
- The importance of job safety analysis
- What is lock-out and tag-out?
- How to drain out hazardous chemical from piping and equipment safely
- How to release pressure from an equipment or piping safely
- How to avoid oxygen suffocation
- The three elements of fire
- How to use portable fire extinguisher
- Portable fire extinguisher map (location)
- Proper Scaffolding Installation
- Scaffolding Safety
- How to get immediate help when an incident occurs
- How to handle hazardous waste temporary before being handed over
- Hydrostatic test safety
- Pneumatic test safety
- How to do safe chemical cleaning of piping
- How to secure compressed gas cylinder
- Confined space safety
- How to treat and dispose used chemical packaging
- How to bring a heavy object upstairs
- How to use lifting equipment correctly