A Brief Discussion on Safety Management in Chemical Enterprises

Thread Content

Chemical production is characterized by flammability, explosiveness, toxicity, strong corrosivity, operation under high temperature and pressure, and complex production processes. The slightest carelessness can easily lead to fires and explosion accidents, resulting in significant tangible losses (economic and property losses) as well as intangible losses (reputational damage). Therefore, ensuring safe production in chemical enterprises is not only related to the normal operation of these enterprises and the safety of their employees, but also to the survival and development of the enterprises as well as the stability of social order. 　　I. Assign responsibilities to specific individuals and ensure implementation at each level. Establish and improve a safety production responsibility system at all levels, with legal entities taking the lead and responsibilities assigned to individual work teams; sign safety production responsibility agreements at each level, thereby creating a comprehensive, multi-layered safety management framework that ensures accountability at every level, from top to bottom and from left to right. Establish a dedicated safety management organization, staff it with fully trained and qualified safety managers who possess professional knowledge in safety techniques, while assigning part-time safety officers in workshops and teams. A system of responsibility for supervisors at all levels is implemented, with safety production management tasks being broken down at each level and assigned to every individual in their respective positions ； Monthly, performance-based bonuses are awarded in accordance with achievements; evaluations are conducted on a tiered basis, and payments are settled on a monthly basis ； Establish a comprehensive, whole-process, and all-staff safety management network that covers every aspect – vertically to the bottom, horizontally to the edges, and diagonally to the corners – to ensure that safety responsibilities are truly implemented. 　　II. Establish rules and regulations to enforce strict discipline. Without rules, there can be no order; without systems, there is no restraint. It is necessary to formulate a comprehensive, detailed, and practical set of rules and regulations for safety management in line with relevant laws and the actual conditions of the enterprise, such as the \"Labor and Personnel Management System,\" \"Safety Production Management System,\" \"Fire Safety Management System,\" \"Technical Operating Procedures for Safety Production,\" \"Safety Production Responsibility Systems for Various Positions,\" and \"Employee Incentive and Penalty Systems for Violations.\" Certain systems, procedures, and accountability measures need to be posted at the workstations to remind staff of their obligation to implement them. These systems serve to regulate employees’ thinking and behavior, ensuring that the company is run in accordance with the law and that people are managed through established rules, so that employees have clear guidelines and laws to follow in their daily work. 　　III. Training and education, with certification required to work. Formulate annual and monthly training plans for safety production knowledge and skills, and adopt internal and external training methods such as inviting experts in and sending staff out, to ensure that training is conducted on a regular basis, in an institutionalized manner, in diverse forms, with a focus on professionalism and systematicity, thereby improving employees’ safety and technical competence. For employees (including those who have been transferred to new positions and external contractors), the coverage rate of the \"three-level safety training\" must be 100%; those who have not received this training or failed the related examinations are not allowed to work ； Safety and technical training for personnel in special types of work (electricians, metal welding and cutting workers, operators of lifting machinery and elevators, motor vehicle drivers, workers engaged in high-altitude work, boiler operators, pressure vessel handlers, refrigeration technicians, and those working with hazardous materials) as well as for other key positions must be carried out in strict accordance with industry requirements and relevant legal provisions; such personnel must complete training approved by the competent authorities before they can work, and they must hold the necessary certificates to do so. Through regular training and education, employees can indeed acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for safe production, going from not understanding safety to understanding it, and from feeling that they need to be safe to taking it upon themselves to ensure their own safety. Everyone should keep control of themselves, fulfill their responsibilities, and ensure that they neither harm themselves nor others, nor are they harmed by others. 　　IV. Conduct regular inspections to eliminate potential hazards. Implement a safety inspection system (including process discipline, equipment safety, site management, environmental protection, fire safety, etc.), and conduct regular or irregular safety inspections on a frequent basis. The company shall conduct inspections at least once a month, the safety management department at least once a week, and the workshops (work sections) at least once a day. Forms of inspection: Companies can conduct regular inspections, random inspections, or specialized inspections ； The workshop should conduct self-inspections and mutual inspections ； Supervising managers and safety officers should conduct regular patrol inspections and supervision inspections ； The team should conduct pre-shift checks, post-shift checks, and in-process checks. Method of inspection: Based on legal regulations, a checklist is prepared for the item to be inspected, and a thorough examination is carried out item by item. The purpose of the inspection must be clear, the methods used should be flexible, and proper safety handovers must be ensured. Inspections must be documented, and performance should be included in the monthly assessments. Any potential hazards or problems identified must be addressed promptly by taking corrective actions, assigning responsible persons, conducting follow-up inspections, and ensuring that tasks are completed within a set time frame. 　　V. Respect science and operate in accordance with regulations. After the product has been developed through pilot and pilot-scale tests, a set of scientific, systematic, and standardized technical standards for safe production, operational procedures, as well as strict safety precautions are established. Process management, equipment management, and on-site management are strengthened, with strict adherence to process regulations and safe operating procedures for equipment. Regularly strengthen the maintenance of equipment, improve the quality of its installation and repair, and conduct periodic inspections and tests ； Enforce strict labor discipline and operate in strict accordance with regulations, eliminating the phenomena of \"illegal operations, illegal instructions, and violations of labor discipline\" known as the \"three violations\" ； Improve the predictability of safety production management, implement preventive measures in advance, and eliminate potential accident hazards (problems) at their inception. 　　VI. Safety devices: complete and functional. All various safety protection devices and safety accessories in key areas and hazardous positions (such as boilers, pressure vessels, **the production, use, storage of chemicals, etc.) must be complete, in good condition, sensitive, and reliable ； Fire-fighting equipment and emergency response tools must be installed and equipped in accordance with specified standards, and a strict \"designated location management\" system must be implemented; they shall not be used arbitrarily without reason. For safety protection devices, safety accessories, fire-fighting equipment, and emergency response tools, dedicated personnel should be assigned to their management and maintenance, and regular inspections and replacements should be carried out to ensure that these safety devices, accessories, fire-fighting equipment, and emergency tools are always in a \"ready state\" and in good working condition. 　　VII. Strict control over ticket management. Any operations carried out within the chemical industrial zone require the acquisition of relevant safety operation permits, and a strict permit management system must be implemented. Such as “Hot Work Safety Permit”, “Safety Permit for Working Inside Equipment”, “Height Work Safety Permit”, “Groundwork Safety Permit”, “Equipment Maintenance Safety Permit”, “Blind Flange Installation/Removal Safety Permit”, “Lifting Safety Permit”, “Circuit Disconnection Safety Permit”, etc. It is necessary to strictly follow the \"Safety Procedures for Operations within Chemical Plant Sites\" issued by the Bureau of Petroleum and Chemical Industry. The procedures must be clear, controls must be strict, prevention measures must be effective, responsibilities must be clearly defined, and relevant actions must be implemented. Formalities, perfunctory actions, as well as risky operations carried out without approval or in a reckless manner are strictly prohibited. It is necessary to implement dedicated certificates for specific tasks, designated persons for handling certificates, separate signing by designated individuals, and dedicated personnel for inspection and supervision. 　　VIII. Safety meetings shall be held regularly. Regular safety meetings are held for the company and its subsidiaries, during which experiences and lessons learned in safety management are carefully summarized, analyzed, shared, and feedback is provided. Existing problems (potential hazards) and weak points in production are identified, corresponding corrective and preventive measures are formulated, and follow-up checks are conducted to ensure that these measures are actually implemented. Safety meetings should be held at least once a week in the workshop (section). Special situations such as the implementation of key projects, the occurrence of accidents, or the detection of serious potential accident hazards require meetings to be convened immediately. These meetings must have clear objectives, focus areas, specific actions, checks, outcomes, and records, in order to facilitate implementation and accountability. 　　IX. Accident handling: adhere to the principle of \"not letting go in four cases\". Strictly enforce the accident reporting system; failure to report is prohibited. Omission, misreporting, and false reporting. In handling accidents (including near-misses), it is essential to adhere to the \"Four Nos\" principle, which means: \"Do not let go until the cause of the accident is identified; do not let go until those responsible for the accident and the employees have been educated; do not let go until preventive measures are put in place; do not let go until those responsible for the accident are held accountable.\" For dealing with certain accidents (problems), it is also necessary to draw inferences from one instance and apply similar principles, thereby expanding the scope of educational reforms. Accident handling must be \"practical, meticulous, and strict.\" By \"practical,\" it means to seek truth from facts, base actions on evidence, avoid deception, and not act rashly ； ““Careful”: One must be thorough and meticulous, not missing any detail or any suspicious sign ； “Strictness: Those responsible for the accident must be dealt with strictly; there should be no leniency or tolerance, nor any perfunctory handling of the matter. In investigating the responsibility for certain accidents, it is also necessary to establish connections both upward and downward as well as across different parties, in order to further enhance the sense of responsibility among the relevant personnel.