Safety InFood Industry

Food processing machineries like mixers, bucket elevators, pal-letizers, labelling and packaging lines etc., have been proved ex-tremely hazardous, as operator accidents involving serious inju-ries and fatalities continue to occur at a high rate within food industry.

Risk prioritization following a comprehensive machinery safety audit and risk assessment, as per international standards (e.g. ISO 12100), can help management make decisions regarding suita-ble machine guarding, interlocks and their required performance levels (PLr, SIL). In addition, organizational measures can also be suggested to effectively handle residual risks.

The Machinery Safety Certified Engineers of Ergonomia’s multi-disciplinary industrial safety department have the necessary knowledge and expertise to identify and assess all risks and pro-pose feasible technical solutions, that will effectively protect op-erators without hindering their task and therefore avoiding inter-lock by-passing.

The main contributing factor in the majority of accidents and incidents in industry is human error, thus, making human performance and be-havioural based safety (BBS) key factors. Through a Human Reliability Assessment, measures can be taken to reduce the likelihood of errors occurring within a system and therefore lead to an improvement in the overall level of safety. Indicative methods implemented by our Industrial Safety Department include the following:

• Hazard identification techniques (Human HAZOP, Technique for Human Error Assessment, THEA, etc.)• Expert judgement techniques (Absolut Probability Judgment, APJ, etc.)• Bow Tie method in Human Reliability Assessment.

Machinery Safety Audits & Risk Assessments

Human Reliability Assessment

Safety InFood Industry

Explosion Protection (ATEX)

Major dust explosions in grain and food in-

dustry have shown the importance of an ef-

fective explosion risk assessment. Hazardous

area classification combined with ignition

hazard assessment will help the facility iden-

tify high explosion risk areas such as silos,

mills, bagfilters etc. and the ignition sourc-

es that can be found in them (smoulder-

ing fires, static electricity, etc). At the same

time, documenting all existing technical and

organisational measures and suggesting

cost-effective new ones, where necessary,

will demonstrate that explosion hazards are

maintained at an acceptable low level.

In cases where the minimization or down-

grade of hazardous areas is required, auto-

mated systems can be designed and installed,

comprising of high integrity equipment (SIL),

that will not hinder the production process

but will upgrade the overall safety level of

the facility.

The use of specialized software and computer simulation of work-

ing environment can offer customized energy-saving solutions

that meet the provisions of food industry standards as well as any

specific requirements such as explosion protection and emergen-

cy response procedures.

Several accidents involving anhydrous ammo-

nia release from refrigeration systems have

been reported resulting in serious injuries

and in some cases fatalities. These accidents

indicate the need of a comprehensive risk

analysis to identify all possible hazards and

deviations from design intent. Ergonomia’s

industrial safety department can help you in

achieving a higher level of safety through the

following services:

• As-built and Revalidating HAZOP & human

HAZOP (PHA-pro software)

• Explosion Protection Verification (ATEX)

• Consequence Modelling (EFFECTS software)

• Quantitative Risk Assessment (RISKCURVES

software)

• Ammonia Hazards and Emergency Proce-

dures Training

• Compliance Audits (EN 378, ISO 5149, IOR

& IIAR Guidance etc.)

Industrial Lighting Implementation Studies

Ammonia Refrigeration Systems

Electrical safety assessments involve identification, analysis and

evaluation of all potential risks of electrical installations within

industrial facilities. Ergonomia’s electrical and automation engi-

neers are able to deliver electrical safety reviews and gap analysis,

addressing a wide spectrum of areas such as:

• Hazardous areas electrical inspections as per IEC 60079.17

(CompEx certified)

• Machinery electrical compliance (IEC 60204)

• Arc Flash Assessment (IEEE 1584)

• Visual and Infrared inspections

The risk of each finding can be assessed, prioritized and present-

ed in individual inspection sheets in order to implement a risk-

based remedial approach.

Electrical Safety Gap Assessments

Job Safety Analysis is a powerful tool for keeping workplaces safer and associated costs from Lost Time Injury (LTI) down. By observing a worker actually performing the job, an occupational risk assessment can be prepared comple-mented by measurements of physical and chemical agents, when necessary. In this way, an action plan can be drawn based on risk prioritization in order to proactively address specific workplace hazards such as:

• Slips, trips and falls from height

• Warehouse safety assessment (racks, forklifts, cranes, fire protection)

• Confined space entry (e.g. silos etc.)

• Waste handling and storage related hazards

• Exposure to physical agents (e.g. noise)

• Dust inhalation (grain, flour, sugar dust etc.)

• Manual handling, repetitive tasks and poor workstation design hazards

A Bow Tie diagram offers visualisation of hazards in order to fa-cilitate comprehension of existing measures that cover the whole range of the activity of an installation and relate to occupational hazards, explosion hazards, risks to quality and the environment, etc. At the same time it is possible to identify the parts of a sys-tem, that needs further improvement through specific risk based safety audits and therefore propose appropriate prevention and protection measures.

Occupational Health & Safety

Risk Management with Bow Ties

partners with

The comparative advantage of Ergonomia is the interdisciplinary approach. More than 15 skilled engineers of various disciplines and certified in relevant fields (NEBOSH, ATEX, Machinery Safety, Functional Safety, HAZOP, BBS) have been trained in the use of appro-priate software and have conducted numer-ous risk assessments implementing a com-prehensive approach.

Ergonomia’s Industrial Safety Department has managed to help grain and food indus-tries worldwide successfully comply with legal requirements enhancing their overall safety level in the most cost-efficient way.

Why Ergonomia

Some of our food industry clients

• Risk Management with Bow Ties

• Explosion Protection Studies (ATEX)

• Fire Protection Studies

• Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA)

• HAZOP & LOPA (Design, As-built & Revalidating)

• Machinery Safety Assessments (Machinery Safety Certified Engineers)

• Safety Related Parts of Control Systems (PLr) & (SIL)

• Hazardous Area Electrical Inspection (CompEx Certified)

• Electrical Safety Assessments (Arc Flash, EN 60204)

• Human Error Analysis in Safety Critical Procedures (BBS)

• Industrial Lighting Studies

• Occupational Safety & Health Risk Assessments

53-57, Karaoli Michail str., GR-142 31 N. Ionia - Attiki, GREECE

+30 210 2773327 +30 210 2773322

www.ergonomia.eu

industrial@ergonomia.gr INDUSTRIAL SAFETY

S e r v i c e s