Thread Content
In international engineering projects, at the later stages of the project (or before commissioning), the process package provider, the party owning the proprietary technology, etc., will conduct inspections based on the contractor’s design drawings and equipment. Based on these inspections, a \"List of Deviations\" is prepared; these deviations are further classified according to their severity. What is the principle behind this classification?
What you might be referring to is PSSR (Pre-Startup Safety Review), the safety review conducted before startup; the criteria for classifying such reviews vary from company to company. But it can be roughly classified as follows: Deviation management refers to the situation where procedures or tasks that must be carried out according to regulations cannot be executed or cannot be fully executed for some reason; in such cases, execution can be postponed with the approval of the relevant manager. Category A items that must be corrected are those identified during the Pre-Start Safety Review (PSSR) that prevent operation from starting up or that could lead to safety or environmental accidents during startup, and which must be rectified before operation begins. Criteria for Category A items: – Normal operation is not possible without corrective action; – Failure to take corrective action will result in a Level 4 risk; – Other items that may pose significant risks (below Level 4) are determined through discussion by the PSSR team. All Category A items must have their corrective actions completed and verified before they can be started up or put into use. Category B residual items refer to those identified during the Pre-Startup Safety Review (PSSR) that, during operation, do not affect production efficiency or product quality nor cause safety or environmental incidents, and can be corrected within a specified time after startup. Category C recommendations refer to those identified during the Pre-Startup Safety Review (PSSR) that, during operation, do not affect production efficiency or product quality nor cause safety or environmental incidents; such items can be addressed at an appropriate time after startup. All Class B and C legacy items can be approved for implementation only after monitoring measures and remediation plans have been put in place. Deviation management: The Class A items that must be corrected, as determined through joint discussion by the 1 PSSR team, as well as the Class B and C residual items, must not be altered arbitrarily by anyone. Deviation management can be adopted if it is proven through evaluation that it will not result in safety or quality consequences. Deviations must be documented in writing, including the relevant facts or arguments supporting the reasons for the deviation. The duration of each authorization deviation shall not exceed one year. 2 Category A mandatory changes: If a change is not necessary or cannot be made, a written explanation of the reasons must be provided and approved by the person in charge of initiating the process. 3 Residual items of categories B and C: If the operating unit is unable to track them, it should report to higher-level management for resolution. 4 In case of disputes or special circumstances, it shall be submitted to the company’s senior management for decision.
Domestic petrochemical projects also have a similar A, B, C classification for the final items of the “three inspections and four determinations” approach, but the definitions are rather vague, with many factors determined subjectively.