Analyzing Storage Terminal Risk During COVID-19 Work from Home
BakerRisk has the unique ability to use the results from facility siting studies (FSS) to enhance reviews of other critical safety systems throughout terminals. Consequence and risk-based FSS can support other technical safety studies such as fire and gas detector analysis, fire hazard and mitigation, and hazardous area classification. Other studies we have recently performed for terminals include EPA RMP analysis, detailed tank assessment to API standards, risk register development, and PHAs.
With an oversupply of oil pushing storage capacity of crude oil terminals to the limits, storage terminals are looking to increase capacity by bringing out of service equipment back online and re-purposing other storage capacity to support the oversupply. As terminals bring additional storage capacity online, it is vital to assess changes in function or operation through their MOC process, and as part of best practice should include an update to technical safety studies. To further complicate operational conditions of crude oil storage terminals, many are operating with minimum staffing and the frequently changing operations make their work very stressful.
BakerRisk can help you take a holistic approach to review terminal safety systems and identify gaps in existing processes.
As many of our clients are working from home as well, they are not able to pull people into meetings or discuss topics informally during breaks or at lunch and less information is being transferred internally within the client’s site. It is critical to engage with people from many areas of the company’s business/operations in remote discussions/workshops. Kristen says, “I often find in remote workshops and associated discussions that it has been critical to involve the right people to ensure all aspects of the study are understood.” Approaching remote working in this way helps to fill those information gaps typically addressed during informal discussions and results in a productive working session for all team members. Kristen goes on to add, “Remote working sessions allows us to quietly listen to client concerns about what is changing in their facility. The candid discussions that staff have in web meetings allow us, as facilitators, to not only ensure sites have addressed their main concerns on a given project, but for the employees as a whole.” This ability to engage beyond a project scope is key and forms the backbone of the strong foundation that makes us BakerRisk.