Safety and Risk assessment
As an industrial entrepreneur, paying attention to industrial safety must be taken into consideration for three main reasons.
First: Legal Reasons
In the case of the occurrence of an accident inflicting damage or deaths in the factory, the official and the owner of the factory may be legally held responsible for the accident caused by any failure from them.
Second: Ethical Reasons
Business owner must provide an appropriate and safe work environment for his/her employees to ensure their safety and avoid any risks that may cause injuries among them as a result of any accidents arising from manufacturing processes.
Third: Financial Reasons
Most entrepreneurs believe that financial losses resulting from accidents are only limited to direct losses, such as damage to machinery, buildings or final product. However, in reality, there are hidden or indirect costs that emerge after accidents, such as loss of the company's reputation or loss of customer confidence in its products due to their discontinuation, in addition to low employee morale and other operational costs such as the factory rental cost as well as the employees' salaries, while production is suspended due to the accident.
Therefore, All industrial establishments must carefully and periodically evaluate the risks and put in place the necessary precautions to deal with them as soon as they arise. For instance:
- Firefighting systems
- Fire detection and alarm systems
First: Fire Fighting Systems:
Firefighting systems are a very important part in every facility, factory, etc. They differ according to the nature of the risk. Firefighting System Classification is divided into:
Fire Extinguishers:
In general, fire extinguishers can be divided into five main types:
- Water extinguishers
- Foam extinguishers
- CO2 extinguishers
- Wet chemical extinguishers
- Dry-powder fire extinguishers
Automatic Systems:
- Automatic Sprinkler Systems:
Automatic sprinkler systems cover high-risk areas and stores that contain flammable materials. The nature of the materials and their physical and chemical properties determine the appropriate system, whether it is water or foam. The system can be designed according to approved standards such as Saudi Building Code (SBC).
A Deluge system is used to cover fuel and gas tanks (LPG tanks).
A water mist system can be used to cover electric generators.
1) Fire Hose Cabinet
Fire hose cabinet shall be installed according to their types (water or foam) in dangerous areas and near the emergency exits if possible.
2) Fire Hydrant
A fire hydrant shall be distributed in open areas and non-closed storage areas.
- Fixed Gas Fire Fighting Systems:
The system includes clean gases (FM-200, NOVEC 1230) or carbon dioxide, and is used to protect important rooms such as servers and electricity rooms.
Second: Fire detection and alarm systems
Fires are rapidly spreading and may lead to injuries or death, as well as tremendous losses to industrial facilities.Early warning systems detect fire in its early stages to reduce physical and financial losses. That is done by installing fire detectors throughout the building.
Detectors and Sensors for Fire Alarm System:
Detectors and sensors are connected to the control panel, in order to detect the fire and send a signal to the control panel, such as:
Smoke Detector:
It is a device that detects smoke when a fire breaks out. It sends a signal to the control panel in case of a smoke or fire.
Heat Detector:
It is a device that is activated when sensing heat on the site. When the heat rises rapidly above a certain degree, the alarm is activated sending a signal to the control panel.
Call Point:
It is a system that works manually in the event of a fire by breaking the glass and pressing the button. This will immediately indicate a signal to the control panel and sound the alarms to alert staff and building occupants in the event of fire and allow those who are responsible to take necessary measures.
Gas Detector:
It is a device that detects the presence of gas in an area and then sends a signal to the control panel.
Optical detectors:
They are also known as flame detectors and have two major types:
1. Devices that detect light in the ultraviolet spectrum.
2. Devices that detect light in the infrared spectrum.
All alarm detection devices are connected to a firefighting control panel which is a digital control unit that receives signals from several detectors. The signal sounds the alarms located at emergency exits. There are two types:
1. Conventional Fire Fighting System:
This system consists of a group of detectors and sensors connected to each other and allocated for a specific area only. When the alarm is activated, the security personnel discover the location of the fire.
2. Addressable Fire Fighting System:
This system has a group of detectors linked to each other in an area that is programmed according to specific numbers and names of places where the detectors are located. It shows the number of the detector or sensor with the name of the area in which a fire has occurred as well as the exact time.
