Accidents Trending Down-Achieving Zero a Reality
This study assessed the impact, in a large project setting, of the five high-impact Zero Accident Techniques identified in the 1993 CII study. RT-160 identified 10 key topic areas that contribute to improved safety performance. Although the five topics from the 1993 study were among them, they are being implemented with some notable differences. The 10 topic areas follow in the order of how a safety initiative might take place:
Management commitment
Staffing for safety
Pre-project and pre-task planning
Safety education (orientation and specialized training)
Worker involvement
Evaluation and recognition and reward
Subcontractor management
Accident/incident investigation
Drug and alcohol testing
Contract type
RT-160a’s related research focused on short-duration projects (commonly referred to as shutdowns, turnarounds, or outages) to assess the unique characteristics of these projects; particularly, the rapid buildup of the workforce. Its results were consistent with the key topic areas for RT-160 above, but RT-160a identified additional factors that influence safety performance on shorter projects:
Transferring workers from other projects to perform the work
Hiring workers a few weeks before the short duration project
Shorter work weeks and project duration
Smaller crews or worker-supervisor ratios
Incentivized contracts
Use of Design for Maintainability practices is proven to give members a decisive industry edge: (IC Presentation 1999, slide 5)
- Cost – Industry best use shows a cost of $0.72 versus $1.00 for industry average use
- Cycle Time – Industry best use is at 70% compared to 1.0 for industry average use
- Operability – Industry best use operates at a 6% improvement over industry average use
FRONT END PLANNING (1.5 PDH CREDITS)
Capital project delivery is greatly affected by the quality of the front end planning (FEP) effort. This process has become a key focus of many organizations in recent years. All projects have unique risks that must be addressed to ensure that the project is the correct venture for the sponsoring organization, that the important scope issues are decided to form a good design basis, and that a realistic execution approach is planned to allow the project team to smoothly transition through the design process, construction and into effective startup and operations. An effective, structured front end planning process will therefore facilitate project success. Research conducted by CII indicates that effective front end planning can set the stage for:
- better cost performance, including more predictable estimates and reduced project cost
- reduced project schedules
- fewer project changes
- better operational performance
- a reduced chance of project disasters
CII has developed a process and several tools that, when properly used, can significantly improve the work produced during the front end process. This 90-minute online course provides an detailed overview of the FEP process.
Published: January 2021
NOTE: All CII online courses are exclusively available through an annual subscription to CII's Online Education (OLE) program. See CII Online Education for more details on subscribing and pricing.
