Operating Procedures – Can they prevent accidents?

An article on the legal implications of the recent Bhopal Gas verdict quotes from the operating manual of Union Carbide “UCIL’s “Operating Manual Part-I – Methyl Isocyanate Unit” (October 1978), which the prosecution produced as evidence before the trial court, warned as follows: “…[i]t must be foremost in everybody’s mind that there is a probability of injury or accident round the corner. But these can be avoided if all are safety conscious and follow safety procedures strictly. Safety is our prime need. All chemicals like MIC, phosgene, HCl, CO, chlorine, MMA, chloroform and caustic soda, etc., however hazardous they are, can be handled safely by knowing the correct procedure. There is a correct way of handling them and there is ‘No Short Cut’. Any carelessness in operation will endanger you, your colleagues and everybody around you” (page 122).”
Just by having written procedures does not mean they will be followed. It depends on top management commitment to make the procedures work. And this is no easy work – it requires monitoring by top management on a 24 X 7 basis. With top management being busy always, looking at strategy, cost reduction, expansions etc, I feel that the focus sometimes does get lost. Read the full article in this link.