CONTRIBUTORS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
Andy Perks column continued By Andrew Perks
I have recently picked up an article published by my old friend Paddy Durham - from New Zealand Ammonia Refrigeration Operators / NH3 / 717 - published on their face book page on 14 June 2022 which I want to share with Cold Link Africa readers as follows :
On 27 May [ 2022 ], we have had another terrible and preventable death in our industry ; yet discussions after such events are near enough dormant . ( Incident occurred at an ice plant in Kamloops ).
Most of us pay our respect to the departed and family , and go on about our day , there may be some proactive in-house traction with safety bulletins or alerts however at the end of the day , we must wait for the investigation and court proceedings some 12-24 months post-incident to understand exactly what went down and action to be taken . Who knows what could happen in that time ? It ' s time for action now !
We have low-charge systems popping up all over the show - don ' t get me wrong this is a great thing provided those who are working on them know what they are doing and up against . We are used to having room around equipment , LC systems are getting compact with very little wiggle room , we must consider different work strategies at times to combat the confinement .
My fear is that inexperienced commercial techs will agree to work on these systems with little to no experience and resources . But that ' s slightly off-topic ... The truth of the matter is nine times out of ten , direct or indirect human factors are at play , and we don ' t learn anything we don ' t already know about how to control and mitigate ammonia .
Outside of the RAGAGEP ( Recognised And Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices ) deficiencies and competency , the two human behavioural factors at play in these events are primarily : 1 . Non-conformance to SOP ( standard operating procedures ) or non-existent robust task flow . 2 . Air purifying respirators are not worn or escape hoods are not available . One thing I feel we as technicians and operators can do to decrease the quantum of incidents is up the communication around these events - both on and off the job on social media platforms .
TOOLBOX TALKS : PRE AND POST-ACTIVITY . Before every task involving R717 transfer or line opening , there should be a " toolbox talk " to run through the SOP job steps , confirm resources and identify roles and responsibilities . Paying attention to the job at hand but also what actions to be taken in an emergency ; what parameters define an emergency , what initial actions will be performed , who is doing what and how . We focus so much on writing preventive job steps that we forget the steps to be taken in the event of an Emergency . Here is the perfect opportunity to " walk the line " in a desktop-style .
PEER REVIEW This is not only where all workers can add their opinion concerning the SOP and ERP but also an opportunity to inspect issued PPE - Your buddies can check that there are no issues with functionality and certification and you theirs .
DON AND START I can always tell an ammonia mechanic who has been on the receiving end of a bite from ole smokey . They carry their respirator everywhere . Often it stays on their person , attached to their waist or in a purpose-built side
32 www . coldlinkafrica . co . za COLD LINK AFRICA • September 2022