In typical industrial environments the permit to work makes sure that communication takes place between all people involved in dangerous, non-routine tasks on the plant. For example, reference to a temporary safety system over-ride was not carried forward. Inaccurate and unreliable carry-forward of written information from shift to shift was evident.A lack of procedures which specified how to conduct an effective shift handover was evident.Operator support were not designed to capture key information reliably and unambiguously.Thorough communication of such work should be afforded a very high priority.In some of the incidents, planned maintenance work continued over a shift change.One such HSE study analysed a number of incidents involving planned maintenance work and found that the following shift handover related risks were contributing factors to accidents and fatalities : Several studies into shift handover have been done to better understand ways to improve the procedures. Making sure that the changeover process itself is defined and managed properly is a priority area to focus on when looking for ways to improve safety on the plant. Risks associated with shift handoverĬonsidering that a typical shift is either 8 or 12 hours long, changeover happens 1095 or 730 times during the year, in other words there are 730 or 1095 high risk opportunities for miscommunication leading to safety incidents. In practice we have observed that there is little standardization of these handover procedures between companies, and while some follow a very rigorous and defined process, others merely rely on individuals to communicate effectively. Each company will develop their own procedure in line with their operational requirements. To ensure continuity and minimize errors, a standard procedure is implemented for shift handover. Other, bigger tasks such as a major repair might take place over days, weeks or even months. These tasks, sometimes involving different teams can take place during two or more shifts. The reality of day to day operations is that certain tasks like critical repairs, or unloading bulk raw materials happen on their own time scale. Shift changeover times are planned in advance. Work that takes place across shiftsĪ shift roster is typically set up in advance to accommodate the need for people to work to a schedule. The goal of the handover process is to maintain continuity and the formal transfer of responsibility and accountability between the respective parties. Shift handover should be regarded as a high-risk process because it cannot be automated and relies on human behavior. While plants can operate 24X7, people need to take breaks. Changing shifts is a requirement in any continuous process.
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