Operations, maintenance, and safety

This chapter discusses the aspects of operations, maintenance and safety in the process industries. It discusses the human factors and ergonomics, that deal with the interface between humans and technology, including plant equipment, instrumentation, software and work processes. It aims to optimize human efficiency, effectiveness, health, safety, and well being, within the context of overall system performance operability, reliability, and maintainability. The terms human factors and ergonomics tend to be used interchangeably, with the former being preferred in the United States and the latter in Europe and Australia. In the United States the term ergonomics is often used when dealing with musculoskeletal disorders, with particular reference to the comfort and long-term health of the workers. The actions and procedures that should generally be followed for safe operations and maintenance activity, particularly with respect to minimizing the chance of fire and exposure to toxic chemicals are: housekeeping, minimizing contact with air, spills and overflows, hot taps, unplugging a line, and naturally occurring radioactive material.