Publications

In the industrial and medical gases industry, the transport of gases to the customers is often carried out by contractors acting as transporters or carriers. In most cases the contractor provides personnel (for example drivers) and certain transport equipment (for example truck, semi-trailer tractor, chassis for swap bodies / containers and driver’s equipment). Hence, the contractor’s personnel are directly responsible for transport safety. The employees of the contractors also act as representatives of the gas companies towards the customers. For these reasons, it is critical that gas companies choose their contractors diligently, train them for the transport of industrial and medical gases, monitor their performance closely and take action if they perform poorly. This safety information provides guidance on the minimum requirements for the selection, qualification, and performance monitoring of contractors that provide equipment, personnel, and services for the transport of industrial and medical gases.

ADR (European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road) requires training of persons involved in the transportation of dangerous goods in accordance with chapter 1.3 and training of the vehicle crew according to chapter 8.3. National road regulations require training for the driver to obtain a licence or permit to operate the type of vehicle used for transport. However, the experience in the gas industry demonstrates that the knowledge and skills acquired from this training need to be supplemented with training specific for the industrial and medical gases industry to ensure the safe distribution of gases. This Safety Information document gives advice on the type of training drivers and other transport function personnel should receive when working with products of Class 2 of ADR for the industrial and medical gases industry.

It is critical that the managers of gas companies and transportation companies ensure that they have processes in place to reduce the risk of rollovers and other serious vehicle incidents, to avoid any impact on human life, human health, material and environmental damages. Vehicle incident investigations have shown that the majority of these incidents are avoidable. Many of the causes are related to lack of training or knowledge; people’s ability to react to high risk situations; human behaviour, for example non-compliance with rules or safe driving practices; inadequate organisation and management processes. This safety information provides advice on reducing the risk of a vehicle rollover and other serious incidents on the road and is intended for managers, drivers and other transport function personnel who are involved in transportation activities or driver training.

On the road transportation of gases and equipment can often be the highest risk activity for gas companies and their providers of transport services. Complying with the legislative and regulatory requirements of operating a transport fleet needs to be supplemented with requirements and guidance specific for the industrial and medical gases industry to prevent one of your drivers or vehicles from being involved in a serious incident. The key issues concerning transport safety have been divided into a series of key topics, one Transport Safety Information document will be published for each of these topics. The goal is to provide guidelines for managers, drivers and other transport function personnel which, when complied with, can help prevent serious transport incidents. This first transport safety information document provides an overview of the Transport Safety Information being made available for EIGA and non EIGA members working within the industrial, medical gases and general transport and logistics industry.

EIGA’s series of Human Factor Safety Information sheets are intended to explore Human Factors specific to the industrial and medical gases industry, raise awareness on these issues, and provide guidance. Hydrogen: Hydrogen is a unique gas that behaves in a different way to other flammable gases. People working with or near hydrogen installations need to understand and take extra care for these reasons. Target Audience: Any professional organisation dealing with hydrogen and related installations including designers and suppliers.

There are many terms that are used to describe how people contribute to safety events, including human failure and human error. In this publication the term ‘Human Reliability’ is used to describe an area of safety management that considers the human contribution to risk and the systems we need to reduce that risk. Human reliability assessment (can also be known as Human Error Analysis) is used to gather and present information on these factors in a logical way. Organisations use human reliability assessment to examine the extent to which they have these factors under good control. If the level of control (and therefore human reliability) can be improved, the assessment will point to how this may be achieved. This human factors safety information sheet gives an overview of the various aspects to consider and provides assessment checklists.

Human Factors Engineering is the application of human factors to the design and development of systems and services. Ergonomics is about ensuring a good ‘fit’ between people and the things they use. People vary enormously in height and weight, in physical strength, in ability to handle information and in many other ways. Ergonomics uses information about human abilities, attributes and limitations to ensure that our equipment, work and workplaces allow for such variations. This human factors safety information sheet gives an overview of the various aspects to consider and provides assessment checklists.

Safety culture is a subset of the overall company culture and societal culture. The culture and the style of leadership have an essential influence on safety culture and performance. The human factors safety information sheet gives an overview of the various aspects to consider and provides assessment checklists.

Organisation changes have an impact on the way that work is performed and have significant effects on the staff. This safety information sheet gives an overview of the various aspects to consider and provides assessment checklists.

Fatigue refers to the issues that arise from excessive working time or poorly designed shift patterns. Fatigue is a perceived state of ‘weariness’ caused by prolonged or intensive exertion. It results in slower reactions, reduced ability to process information, memory lapses, absent-minded slips, ‘losing the picture’, lack of attention etc. Fatigue can lead to errors and accidents, ill-health and injury, and reduced productivity. It is often a root cause of major accidents. This publication is intended for all personnel who are involved in managing shift workers.