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Safety and environmental standards for fuel storage sites
Final report
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85 The Level 3 S/NVQ consists of the following units:
Contribute to the safety of processing equipment.
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Respond to incidents, hazardous conditions, and emergencies.
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Work effectively as a team.
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Start-up equipment.
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Monitor and maintain process and equipment conditions.
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Handle non-routine information on plant condition.
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Shut down equipment.
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Prepare for maintenance.
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Carry out maintenance within agreed scope of authority.
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Provide samples for analysis.
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Analyse samples.
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Provide on-plant instruction.
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86 These new versions of the Level 3 standards, adapted from the previous (2005) Refinery
Control Operations and Refinery Field NOS, are awaiting approval by the scheme’s regulator, but
are unlikely to change significantly.
87 Importantly, the schemes (Level 2 or Level 3) define the key performance criteria required to
safely perform the task of receiving bulk liquid product into storage, and can therefore be used
as effective gap analysis tools when considering individual companies’ management systems and
training provisions.
88 In the Level 3 NOS, the link to major accident hazards should be made in Unit 6 (Handling
non-routine plant information) and Unit 2 (Response to incidents, hazardous conditions and
emergencies).
89 The Cogent standards are quoted as an example of a system that has been adopted by the
industry (at Level 2 at least), and generally been found suitable.
90 Although this report gives considerable prominence to the S/NVQ option, it is recognised that
there may well be other competence assurance systems, including in-house systems that are also
effective.
Summary
91 Dutyholders should ensure that they have:
clearly identified the roles and responsibilities of all those involved in managing, performing, or
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verifying work in the management of major hazards, including contractors;
in particular, defined the roles and responsibilities of control room operators (including in
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automated systems) in ensuring safe fuel transfer operations;
defined the roles and responsibilities of managers and supervisors in monitoring safety-critical
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aspects of fuel transfer operations.
92 Dutyholders should ensure that they have implemented a competence management system,
linked to major accident risk assessment, to ensure that anyone whose work impacts on the
control of major accident hazards is competent to do so.
Staffing, shift work arrangements, and working conditions
93 Staffing, shift work arrangements and working conditions are critical to the prevention, control
and mitigation of major accident hazards.
94 Inadequate staffing arrangements were a factor in the explosion at Longford, Australia in 1998.
Some high hazard organisations in the UK were setting staffing levels based on steady-state operations.