Analysis of the safety barrier function: Accidents caused by the failure of safety barriers and quantitative evaluation of their performance. (September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kang, Jian; Zhang, Jixin; Gao, Jiancun
• Is Part Of: Journal of loss prevention in the process industries. Volume 43(2016:Sep.)
• Page Start: 361
• Page End: 371
• Publication Date: 2016-09
• Subjects: Safety barrier -- Performance evaluation -- Accident evolution -- Failure mechanism; Chemical industries -- Safety measures -- Periodicals; 660.2804
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jlp.2016.06.010
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0950-4230

Abstract

Abstract: An evaluation of the safety barrier system currently in place in the modern workplace is required to prevent major accidents and present new recommendations regarding safety levels. Safety barriers were classified and their components were described to evaluate their performance. We established a new evaluating method that included three indicators, namely the degree of confidence, the effectiveness and the economic impact. A calculation method is developed to assess each indicator using fuzzy mathematic theory. We described the progression of an accident considering the failure of safety barriers and used the observations to devise proper barriers to stop the propagation of unexpected events. The proposed method is applied to simulate a catastrophe involving the explosion of an oil storage facility which constitutes our case study. The obtained results are practical and applicable and show a high degree of quality and flexibility. Highlights: Safety barriers are classified according to the barrier function and feature. The accident mechanism is studied in terms of safety barrier failures. A quantitative evaluation method for safety barrier performance evaluation is developed.