Piper alpha on 6 july 1988, a series of explosions and fires destroyed the piper alpha oil platform and killed 167 people. Pdf preventable disasters in the offshore oil industry. Piper alpha disaster engineering bibliographies cite. This platform, located in the north sea approximately 110 miles from aberdeen, scotland, had 226 people on board at the time of the event, 167 including, two emergency response personnel died during a rescue attempt. A postmortem analysis of technical and organizational factors. Outline about piper alpha platform the happening event timeline cause of the disaster effect of the disaster key failures improvement and prevention conclusion 2. Pdf the british offshore oil industry after piper alpha.
A poor quality safety case was found causal to the 2006 raf nimrod crash, killing all 14 crew members. It is the stage at which the ideas are formed in detail, the writing is clarified and diagrams and such are added in, yet the work isnt. These sessions will use case studies like flixborough and piper alpha as well as local examples, and link back to appropriate bowties and to the basis of safety. Highlights piper alpha offshore oil platform disaster used as a safety case study. Piper alpha is an offshore oil and gas platform that suffered an explosion in july 1988, in one of the worst oil disasters in the history of the uk. When multiple cases are use d, a typical format is to prov ide detailed. The only paper that was a disappointment was piper alpha a case study in distorted communication pp. For example, a piece of equipment a critical pump with. Piper alpha presentation safety emergency incident. It took less than 20 years for a critical lesson from piper alpha to be forgotten. She was found on the floor with a bleeding skin tear to her left hand and an abrasion to her left knee. Jul 02, 20 the explosions and fire that completely destroyed the north sea oil rig piper alpha and cost 167 workers their lives remains the worlds worst offshore oil disaster. Control room was unprotected and in an exposed location. Pdf the longterm psychological effects of surviving a major disaster are poorly understood.
References weekend aberdeen, nov 27, 20, youtube, retrieved from. Analysis of 460 valid concept maps shows that after 15 weeks students still retained knowledge of the event. About piper alpha placed at north sea, the platform began production in 1976, first as an oil platform and the. Ccps has published over 80 books in its process safety guidelines and process safety concepts series. Failure to correctly record and communicate the current operational status was a causal factor of another more recent disaster in the gas and oil industry, the 2005 buncefield explosion. Pdf case study ford pinto case jose calel academia. As part of its macondo investigation, the csb held a public hearing in december 2010 on the international use of. It must demonstrate, for example, that the company has safety management. It provides the basis of discussion, analysis and training in a variety of ohs areas, including risk assessment, permit to work, emergency procedures, safety design and more.
The gas risers were shut off approximately an hour after bursting. Students were required to prepare concept maps using piper alpha disaster as the domain. A case study has been prepared of the incident and the. The draft is a very important stage in developing a good report. Survivors of the piper alpha oil platform disaster. Piper alpha was one of the heaviest platforms operating in the north sea at the time of the disaster in 1988. A case study in accident investigation piper alpha. It was connected by an oil pipeline to flotta and by gas pipelines to two other installations. Piper alpha disaster on an oil and gas platform in the.
Case study presentation on piper alpha and san juanico incident conference on chemical industrial disaster management cidm c. The basis of safety training has been delivered using a lecture style format to provide. The oil industry has yet to learn lessons of piper alpha. Piper alpha platform, north sea offshore technology oil and gas. Piper alpha case study petroleum industry hydrocarbons. Piper alpha was a large north sea oil platform that started production in 1976. Piper alpha presentation free download as powerpoint presentation. Preventing piper alpha and iso 3 nicholas and smith. Tombs, school of humanities and social sciences, wolverhampton polytechnic castle view, west midlands, england.
May 06, 20 case is on ly as good as th e commitment made to its preparation and implementation. Piper alpha was an oil production platform in the north sea approximately 120 miles 190 km. Oct 16, 2011 the video clips that it links to catalogue the disaster that occurred on the north sea piper alpha rig on 6th july 1988. The gas processing system of the platform comprised two highpressure condensate pumps. Echoes of events that led to piper alph being felt once more say trade unions. It is a great case study for universities to look at management of change. Introduction this is a case study about the piper alpha disaster, on the management operations and structures, the objective of the management, the industrial process of the platform, the causes of the accident together with the consequences of the accident and case study on the improvement and the prevention of such disaster again. The center for chemical process safety ccps, an industry technology alliance of the american institute of chemical engineers aiche, has been a world leader in developing and disseminatinginformation on process safety management and technology since 1985. As shifts changed and the night crew aboard piper alpha assumed duties for the evening, one of the platforms two condensate pumps failed. By using this service, you agree that you will only keep articles for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via dropbox. In the case of piper alpha management, shortcomings emerged in a variety of forms.
Piper alpha disaster on an oil and gas platform in the north sea, july 1988 background what happened a series of explosions and an oil fed fire on the piper alpha oil and gas platform in the north sea on 6th july 1988, 120 miles northeast of aberdeen, killed 167 men. Nasa embraces system safety assessment in npr 8715. Introduction this case study concerns the events leading up to the hydrocarbon explosion which was the starting point for the piper alpha offshore disaster. The explosion and fire on the piper alpha platform, 6 july. It describes the investigation of the incident using the sequentially timed events plotting step technique. The operating companies cite the o5 billion targeted for improvements in safety since piper alpha for example, brandie, 19945, and the apparent success of the post piper alpha safety committee system for example, bbc tv, 1996 as proof that a former complacency towards standards of. These sessions will use case studies like flixborough and piper alpha as well as local examples, and link back to appropriate bowties and to the.
Piper alpha re ceived and sent to the shore the oil and gas production of a group of platforms. Two years earlier occidental management ordered a study, the results of. Jul 15, 20 in the case of piper alpha management, shortcomings emerged in a variety of forms. The piper alpha disaster paved way for offshore safety case, formal safety assessments and a host of safety improvements and initiatives such as uk hse key performance kp 1, 2, 3 inspections. Piper alpha platform, north sea offshore technology oil. There is a lot to learn from this great case study to make. Case study presentation on piper al pha and san juanico incident conference on chemical industrial disaster management cidm c. In the case of piper alpha, the most significant of preventable disasters in the offshore oil industry 505 these was the failure of management on adjoining rigs, faced with the obvious. Pdf in 1998, the explosion of the piper alpha platform claimed 167 lives. This site helps dutyholders to comply with the legal requirements, and shows hses procedures for handling safety cases and other submissions. Guidelines for preventing human error in process safety.
The disaster of piper alpha occurred on 6th july 1988 caused by a gas leak and pumps failure which killed 167 people including two people from the rescue vessel and lost around 3. The accident that occurred on board the offshore platform piper alpha in july. A look into the piper alpha disaster highlighting ethical issues. The accident that occurred on board the offshore platform piper alpha in july 1988 killed 167 people and cost. Piper alpha that killed 167 workers in the worlds deadliest offshore oil industry disaster. Landmark piper alpha cullen report now free to download.
The piper oil field engineering essay uk essays ukessays. Pdf survivors of the piper alpha oil platform disaster. It began production in 1976, initially as an oilonly platform but later converted to add gas production. June 2008 credited to conocophillips project development. While thoms study suggests some minor variations in the scope of. We undertook a survey of survivors of the piper alpha oil. The first of these is awareness training in permits to work.
Root cause analysis case example event resident fell at the bedside while on her way to the restroom. This book really places the disaster im the mind and clearly shows the human cost an effects it had on the all those involved, the survivors, the families of the victims and survivors and thise who dealt with the aftermath. Download adobe acrobat or click here to download the pdf file. Furthermore, macondo raises regulatory concerns for the us just as the 1988 piper alpha disaster. About piper alpha placed at north sea, the platform began production in 1976, first as an oil platform and then later converted to gas oil production started in 1976 with about 250,000 barrels 40,000 m3 of oil per day increasing to 300,000 barrels 48,000 m3 a gas recovery m. Ebook or pdf edited book email encyclopedia article govt. Lord cullen, author of the report on the piper alpha disaster, changed the face of offshore safety. Piper alpha case study petroleum industry hydrocarbons scribd.
Survivors and relatives of those who died went on to form the piper alpha. Alpha accident was one of the cases that can hardly be attributed to an. For example, prior to the disaster, auditing on piper alpha often identified some of risks that contributed to the explosion but instead of the audit findings being analysed and evaluated two elements in the process outlined in the iso 3, they were ignored. Piper alpha platform was constructed in two sections by mcdermott engineering and uie at ardersier and cherbourg, respectively. International journal of engineering trends and technology.
This is a piece built on sociological pretexts, and smacks of union jingoism throughout. About piper alpha 15 it was discovered in 1973 by occidental petroleum caledonia in 1975 piper alpha oil rig was constructed on july 6th 1988, an explosion of the piper alpha platform 3 4. Using concept maps to assess learning of safety case studies. Piper alpha has intrested me since putting together a case study fir european health and safety week four years ago. It led to a series of fires that eventually melted the platform into the waters of the north sea, killing a hundred and sixty seven men, and resulting in insurance losses of u. Available formats pdf please select a format to send. The lack of interplatform communication led to the other platforms continuing to pump gas through the risers on the assumption that a lack of communication meant that piper alpha was dealing with the problem. International journal of engineering trends and technology ijett volume 11 number 4 may 2014. Within seconds a major unstabilised crudeoil fire developed and all but the wellhead area and the lower parts of the platform were engulfed in smoke. If you would like to contribute to aopa s aviation safety efforts, please make a donation today.
Highly visible incidents with farreaching economic and industry effects in which lives were lost include the piper alpha offshore accident 1988, the columbia space shuttle disaster 2003, and the bp texas city refinery explosion 2005. Just a sample of presentation format for piper alpha disaster cause which may help u in preparation for something like this in the future. These are the sources and citations used to research piper alpha disaster. A disaster which could have been, if not totally adverted, dramatically changed in course without the horrible loss of human life. On the night of june the 6th, 1988, an explosion took place on the piper alpha oil and gas production platform. Learning from the piper alpha accident the offshore platform piper alpha, which was lo cated in the british sector of the north sea oil field and operated by occidental petroleum, was engulfed in a catastrophic fire on july 6, 1988. Use of the safety case as a training tool to disperse. By november 1995, a safety case for every installation in uk waters had been accepted by the hse. Piper alpha was an oil production platform in the north sea approximately 120 miles 190 km northeast of aberdeen, scotland, that was operated by occidental petroleum caledonia limited. Introductionthis is a case study about the piper alpha disaster, on the management operations and structures, the objective of the management, the industrial process of the platform, the causes of the accident together with the consequences of the accident and case study on the improvement and the prevention of such disaster again. The 1988 piper alpha disaster remains one of the worst. Lord cullen noted in his report that compliance with detailed prescriptive.
The offshore installations safety case regulations came into force in 1992. British sector north sea oil field 120 miles aberdeen scotland 4 5. It utilizes a case study of the tragic event of the explosion and fire at the piper alpha oil platform in the north sea. Piper alpha essay sample sample essays online library. Piper alpha 25 years on have we learned the lessons. Learning from the piper alpha accident semantic scholar. It produced oil from 24 wells and in its early life it had also produced gas from two wells. History of safety cases piper alpha the destruction of the piper alpha oil rig in the north sea was not the origin of safety case requirements, but it produced a huge boost to the general.
Vapor cloud explosion 1999 iec 61508 1996 isa s84 u. Understanding how emergency plans should be coordinated is also vital for a. The case for safety the north sea piper alpha disaster. It appears your web browser is not configured to display pdf files. This workshop utilizes a case study of the tragic event of the explosion and fire at the piper alpha oil platform in the north sea which resulted in the loss of 167 lives. The piper alpha disaster in which 167 men lost their lives occurred on 6th july 1988. The modern safety case has been influenced by the recommendations of the cullen inquiry into the piper alpha disaster.
1082 337 679 1149 318 1130 303 290 360 653 1101 923 652 1353 234 1484 478 991 441 852 1168 1497 1146 1352 496 711 1230 376 928 1641 975 840 389 898 573 532 1104 1232 1484 366 484 1019 492 684 142