A review of safety by design concept in electric utilities

There is a remarkable correlation between quality management and safety through design philosophy. In general, a more reliable plant is a safer plant. Equipment in modes of operation not anticipated by the designer can create significant risks. There is a large difference between the predicted performance of systems and those observed in practice including the management of deviations, constraints of production, extending the life of equipment, evolution of production systems, process variability, etc. This gap is considered currently as one of the main causes not only of poor performance, but also of risk taking by operators, because they have to respond to situations which have not been considered in the design phase. Business objectives of survival, return on investment, cost control and reduction, and their effect on operating managers serve as reminders that good data must be accumulated to support the social and moral considerations in promoting changes to reduce hazards to an acceptable level. This paper presents the concepts of cradle to grave aspect of safety through design, change in safety philosophy, safety management structure and specific initiatives such as training, communications, incident analysis, safety audit, new procedures, tools, equipment and work methods.