Project Summary
Client Overview
Our client, a pioneering college specialising in construction, plumbing, health & beauty, welding and motor vehicle maintenance, required support with Dangerous Substances & Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR) for the different buildings across campus. They required to reduce their fire & explosion risks to As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP).
Challenge
The challenge was to help the client understand the risks associated with their processes, identifying the key fire and explosion risks on their campus. The other challenges can be that the assessment needs to be carried out during holiday times to avoid students being around and extra control measures are required due to the competence and age of people using the facilities. The objective was to identify and document key fire and explosion risks under a risk assessment, identify key ignition sources and carry out a Hazard Area Classification (HAC) under an explosion protection document (EPD). The importance of DSEAR is covered in this article.
Solution: DSEAR Assessment (Explosion Protection Document)
To address the challenge, Finch employed the standard Explosion Protection Document (EPD) tool which is a proven method for risk assessment and management of DSEAR. This approach allowed us to visually map out the potential causes and consequences of identified hazards and to pinpoint critical control measures required to keep the college safe.
Steps Taken
- Initial Consultation
- Gather relevant information from the college about the processes and equipment which was on site with the relevant personnel.
- College Site Visit
- Explore each of the buildings looking for key processes where there are flammable gases, liquids and dusts.
- Risk Assessment:
- Hazard identification of all the fire and explosion hazards.
- Safeguards in place to prevent the fire and explosion.
- Other Actions/recommendations to ensure the risks are as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP).
- Ignition Hazard Assessment (IHA):
- Identify the potential ignition sources on site.
- The measures applied to prevent ignition sources becoming effective.
- Hazardous Area Classification (HAC):
- From the identified hazardous areas, identify the zoning area around the hazardous substance potential release points.
- Map out the extent of the zoning distance area around the potential release point.
- Hazardous Area Classification drawings:
- Mark up the hazardous area zones on the site maps to show where all the hazardous zoning is.
- Continuous support once the EPD is complete
- Finch supported the college with their actions/recommendations and provided suggestions on how to close the gaps and ensure their risks were managed effectively.
Outcome
The Explosion Protection Document (EPD) provided a clear and easy to visualise understanding of the risks and control measures associated with each of the fire and explosion risks on site. The EPD was instrumental in:
- Ensuring the college is being legally compliant:
- DSEAR is required to be completed legally especially when there are multiple fire and explosion hazards on site.
- HSE are always looking for an up-to-date DSEAR assessment on their site inspections to ensure legal compliance.
- The risks are as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP):
- Carry out all the essential actions/recommendations to ensure all the risks are as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP).
Conclusion
By employing the DSEAR assessment analysis, Finch Consulting enabled the college facility to gain a thorough understanding of their risks and establish a strong basis of safety for fire and explosion prevention. This facilitated safer operations but also ensured they remained legally complaint under the DSEAR regulations.