Shutdowns, revisions or the deactivation of systems consistently pose new challenges for the companies affected. Maintaining occupational safety and preventing danger, as well as ensuring quality and environmental protection standards whilst complying with budgets and scheduling are among the most important challenges faced during the shutdown. Competent and high performance partnerships must be developed for planned and unplanned projects in order to meet requirements during a shutdown.
The author: Michael Kaiser Sales & Marketing Coordinator, Dräger Shutdown & Rental Management, Dräger Safety
In recent years the trend has increasingly shifted towards system operators concentrating on their core competences. For this reason they have tended to assign certain tasks to external partners. These include occupational safety standards for smaller jobs or larger projects and the structure is generally similar for both applications. The administrative department for occupational safety and crucial roles are retained in the company however a service provider is assigned in order to implement and check measures. The client hires any number of the appropriate safety personnel and for any period of time regardless of plans or projects. Fire and safety personnel take on the monitoring of hot work and other associated tasks. In addition, gas analysts are available to perform clearance measurements or monitor hazardous areas 24 hours a day. Occupational safety experts and safety engineers provide specialised and conceptual support. In case of large deactivations or shutdowns the safety personnel come together to form one safety organisation and in this case additional higher level roles are employed. These include safety inspectors who lead a group of safety personnel and are available as on site contact partners to those responsible for individual sections of the plant. Experienced occupational safety experts and safety engineers take on the role of project management and coordinate the entire safety personnel. Structured organisational platforms allow the efficient employment of safety personnel and reduce costs during the shutdown.
In some cases the individual contractors provide the safety personnel themselves and as a result there is a multitude of different levels of training and experience. A uniform safety philosophy and the consistent application of safety related regulations is only possible with increased commitment from the system operator. As the increase in effort and expense is often not achievable an ever increasing number of companies are now turning to one sole provider to provide high caliber personnel in order to achieve more economic and safer processes during the shutdown.
The advantages are obvious. The service provider is obliged to train the personnel and is responsible for regular training and refresher courses for wearers of breathing apparatus. Dräger often goes one step further than other providers as the training provided by Dräger goes beyond the conditions specified by legislative bodies and exceeds the rules and regulations of professional associations. In particular the integrated theory and practical training given to Dräger safety personnel guarantees the necessary know-how for everyday use. This way the customer can call on a pool of qualified safety personnel when necessary. The customer will not have the costs of personnel management, equipment, education and training.
Provision of material
External safety personnel is just one aspect of integrated safety management. In addition, the increased number of workers results in an increased need for safety-related equipment during the shutdown. Large quantities of gas detection technology, breathing protection, fall protection systems, communication technology, electronics, fire prevention equipment and ventilation devices must be available for short periods of time. The costs of procuring, storing and maintaining this material are uneconomical for individual companies. The flexible solution concepts are required, like the procurement of personnel and the provision of equipment is tailored to the customers needs. Ideally, companies purchase all the safety equipment from just one provider. This shortens communication channels and simplifies the organization of rental pools. This allows a cost effective shutdown.
Safety Shop concept
Where large amounts of material are required, Dräger offers a Safety Shop on site in which product experts issue the necessary equipment and when returned maintain them before their next use. If necessary the Dräger Rental Robot can also be added to the Safety Shop system. The Rental Robot is a modular material management system which is fully automatic and allows safety material to be issued and returned around the clock. Innovative software solutions help manage all equipment during a shutdown. The detailed documentation of individual rental procedures significantly reduces the costs resulting from lost rental equipment. At the same time equipment queries can be evaluated and billed on a system specific basis. This allows improved cost management for occupational safety protection and for individual contractors who are not authorised to use certain equipment. If the contractor has insufficient training or certification then they will not be able to rent the equipment. This already minimises the risk of an accident before work even starts.
Dräger always retains a certain amount of safety related material on the customer’s premises at all times. This can either be in the format of a permanent shop system or one that has been set up at short notice. The customer has then the option to request detection technology, breathing protection or other safety equipment around the clock.
The invoicing matches precisely to the requirement of the customer so they can control costs and budget precisely. Dräger also continues to make the latest equipment technology available and takes care of the service and maintenance for all equipment supplied. Dräger ensures that safety related material is always available around the clock.
Shutdown management
Dräger Shutdown & Rental Management combines modules for safe and cost reduction shutdowns in a solution which is specifically tailored to meet the customers needs. The personnel provided are specially trained to deal with the demands and challenges of a shutdown. From individual safety personnel to a complete personnel organisation with a management structure. Dräger offers everything required for the effective provision of personnel. The large pool of employees allows a flexible employment of safety personnel throughout Europe. At the same time all safety-related equipment is available. As a manufacturer of safety-related technology Dräger can react specifically to specific requirements.
Service employees maintain and clean the material on site in mobile breathing protection and detection technology workshops. The combination of personnel and equipment provision is a feature of Dräger Shutdown & Rental Management. It allows the customer to meet specific requirements regarding safety management for the entire shutdown period.
Online-Info: www.cpp-net.com/2211400
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