Major Accident Hazards (Public Nuisance)

August 6, 2014

In the world of technical safety, there is a term called Major Accident Hazard / Event (MAH / Event). It can be described as a hazard or event that cause a major accident (duh),which as defined by the UK HSE as:

  1. a fire, explosion or the release of a dangerous substance involving death or serious personal injury to persons on the installation or engaged in an activity on or in connection with it;
  2. any event involving major damage to the structure of the installation or plant affixed thereto or any loss in the stability of the installation;
  3. the collision of a helicopter with the installation;
  4. the failure of life support systems for diving operations in connection with the installation, the detachment of a diving bell used for such operations or the trapping of a diver in a diving bell or other subsea chamber used for such operations; or
  5. any other event arising from a work activity involving death or serious personal injury to five or more persons on the installation or engaged in an activity in connection with it;

As elaborated by a National Oil Company:

A Major Accident Hazard is typically a low probability, high consequence event, which requires a different approach to the occupational safety management processes.

In Malaysia, I this would also be covered under CIMAH, Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards.

I suggest a new category be put into place to cover Major Accident Hazards to public utilities, for example pollution and loss of water resources. The definition can follow that for MAH, paperwork can be as onerous (call me for help), penalties can be as sever, upto summary execution without due process (yes, I moved into sarcasm territory). I call dibs on MAH(PN).

Please note that, no matter how much you want to, one bad taxi driver cannot be a MAH(PN). I think that suggesting a taxi driver causing major damage to an institutional structure (tourism, national goodwill, etc) is too extreme, even for me.

To eliminate the cause of the MAH, or minimise the effects of the MAH, barriers are put into place (Safety Critical Elements) with a minimum expectation of performance (Performance Standard). For example, if the consequence of the MAH in question is strong BO, the SCE is use of deodorant (or seclusion from the public), with a PS criteria of daily use (or permanent exile).

Bow tie diagram taken from Highly Reliable Performance Blog published by the DOE Office of Corporate Safety Analysis (HS-30)

 

 


2,000 people now live in fear – Baru Bian wants Petronas to explain Lawas explosion

August 5, 2014

Dateline 2014-06-11, Malaysia Chronicle:

Sarawak PKR chief has demanded Petronas conduct “a full and thorough” investigation into the cause of the explosion of its gas pipeline in Lawas earlier today and make their findings public to placate the fears of people living along the pipeline.

Baru Bian said some 2,000 people living along, or close to, the pipeline in the most northern district of the state are now living in fear as the assurance the national petroleum company gave them before they constructed the pipeline years ago is now all very hollow.

“Is this pipeline safe. To me, it is unsafe. To them, it is very unsafe following what happened today.


Saturday Star 2014-08-02 – Job Opportunities

August 4, 2014

Eid Mubarak.

Buy my recommendations, or through my Amazon store. Or get the Young Turks series (all 4 books). Where are those corporate sponsors? Or throw donations at me. I need RM360 to get The Star ePaper.

  • Nothing this week (loooong weekend).

Support your local bookshop!  Bookalicious at The Summit Subang is a good choice. I think they focus on trilogies, quadrilogies, and other ologies. Tell them I sent you, and enjoy the look of perplexity on their faces. Those of you who have dropped my name, thanks!

Food choice of the week? How if you visit Vietnam, how about visiting and updating GoHalalVietnam! for your food needs. For your other needs, talk to your local tour guide/ concierge / man on the street.

Some books for you to turn those bad numbers’ frown upside down.

  

Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathematical DeceptionBad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma FlacksHow to Lie with Statistics


Sarawak’s oil royalty poser

August 3, 2014

Dateline 2014-06-10, Malaysia Chronicle:

SARAWAK Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem, just 100-odd days in office, has made a demand for an increase in oil royalty to the state from 5% to 20% a key agenda of his administration.

Last month, the state assembly passed a resolution to this effect and Adenan repeated it last week, in the presence of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Miri.

Najib said the federal government would consider the matter.

Those who are familiar with how the formula of royalty payment to the oil producing states of Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu works are astounded by the demand, especially asking for a 15% increase, which is ridiculously high.

It calls into question whether the Sarawak state government understands the formula, which I must add here, is rarely explained to the public by Petronas.

Hence public ignorance of the oil royalty issue.


Financial Times links Malaysia to sanctions-breaking sale of Iran oil

August 2, 2014

So, which of our oil terminals are involved?

Dateline 2014-06-06, Malay Mail Online:

Malaysia is among countries used to resell Iranian oil in the Middle Eastern nation’s scheme to circumvent trade sanctions starving it of basic goods, the Financial Times (FT) reported,

The secret scheme is part of the massive corruption that allegedly took place under former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in which the government gave oil allocations to accomplices at large discounts, according to the FT.

These accomplices enjoyed generous commissions as long as they were able to bring back basic commodities or cash into the Middle Eastern country.

As the recruits were unknown politicians or businessmen, they could get information from back channels to sell crude oil to previous importers of Iran’s oil, or new customers, by using new transport routes.

According to the FT, the crude could be sent to Asian countries like Malaysia first, where it would either be put in storage or reloaded onto other tankers before the sale, where it would be labelled as another country’s oil.


Petronas claims RM2.8 billion spent on student scholarships since 1975

August 1, 2014

Dateline 2014-06-08, The Malaysian Insider:

Petronas has spent RM2.8 billion on 21,000 students under its Petronas Education Sponsorship Programme (PESP) since 1975.

Its human resource management senior vice-president, Raiha Azni Abdul Rahman said since Petronas was established in 1974, the programe had been Petronas’s main effort in contributing to the development of sustainable human resource in the country.

Speaking at the PESP scholarship-presentation ceremony at Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) in Seri Iskandar today, Raiha Azni said Petronas planned to make Malaysia the regional hub for education and learning in oil and gas.