Safety in

Cement Industry
 Safety in
Cement Industry

Explosion Risk Assessments

E xplosions constitute a major issue in the cement industry not only due
to the equipment required for handling solid fuels (mills, bagfilters,
bucket elevators etc.) but also due to the nature of explosion hazards.
These hazards include fuel self-ignition, carbon monoxide due to smoul-
dering, explosion propagation within closed systems etc.

Therefore, an explosion protection study (ATEX) must always take into

account the inherent explosion prevention and protection principles of
the cement industry in conjunction with the specific characteristics of the
fuel used and the installation itself. Some of these characteristics include
fuel mixture, volatile and moisture content, mill type, safety interlocks,
inertization, explosion relief devices etc. With this approach, site-specific
and fuel-specific safeguards can be proposed. For instance, by setting the
coal grinding process parameters (e.g. oxygen and temperature limits)
as per volatile content, explosion risk can be significantly reduced. These
safeguards will make hazardous area classification and risk assessment a
powerful tool for increasing the safety level of liquid, gas and solid fuel
installations.

Safe Handling of Alternative Fuels

In recent years, cement industry has faced the challenge to adapt to the ever-growing demand of biomass as “al-
ternative energy” or as an “environmental friendlier fuel”. From wood pellets to refuse derived fuel (RDF) and dried
sewage sludge (DSS), each solid fuel has unique characteristics that classify it as high-, medium- and low-risk in terms
of fire and explosion.

Alternative fuels are prone to self-oxidation and at the same time fire incidents have been proved very hard to extin-
guish. Therefore, it is of great importance, that storage facilities are equipped with reliable and well-designed early
detection and effective fire suppression systems based on a comprehensive fire protection study.

Ergonomia’s experienced engineers can provide consulting services for inherently-safe design of new alternative fuel
installations and assess existing installations for their suitability to handle alternative fuels, based on material char-
acteristics, such as granulometry, calorific value, moisture and ash content, after observation and evaluation of the
actual handling process on site and/or laboratory analysis. A thorough explosion risk assessment, that covers every
step of the process, will result in certain technical solutions and organizational measures, proposed to effectively
address identified hazards and help the facility make a safe transition to the alternative energy era.
Machinery Safety
M achinery can cause injuries or even deaths in many ways such as severing or puncturing by sharp
edges, crushing between moving parts, drawing in by rollers, belts and pulley drives etc.

Risk prioritization following a comprehensive machinery safety audit and risk assessment, as per interna-
tional standards (e.g. ISO 12100), can help management make decisions regarding suitable machine guard-
ing, interlocks and their required performance levels (PLr) as per ISO 13849-1. In addition, organizational
measures can be suggested to effectively handle residual risks.

The Machinery Safety Certified Engineers of Ergonomia’s multidisciplinary industrial safety department
have the necessary knowledge and expertise to identify and assess all risks and propose feasible technical
solutions, that will effectively protect operators without hindering their task and therefore avoiding inter-
lock by-passing

Electrical Safety Gap Assessments

E lectrical safety assessments involve identification, analysis and evaluation of all po-
tential risks of electrical installations within industrial facilities. Ergonomia’s elec-
trical and automation engineers are able to deliver electrical safety reviews and gap
analysis, addressing a wide spectrum of areas such as:
• Hazardous Areas Electrical Inspections as per IEC 60079.17 (CompEx certified)
• Machinery Electrical Compliance (IEC 60204)
• Arc Flash Assessment (IEEE 1584)
• Visual and Infrared Inspections
The risk of each finding is assessed, prioritized and presented in individual inspection
sheets in order to implement a risk-based remedial approach.
Human Reliability Assessment
T he main contributing factor in the majority of accidents and incidents in the industry is human error, thus, setting
human performance and behavioural based safety (BBS) as key factors. Through a Human Reliability Assessment,
measures can be taken to reduce the likelihood of errors occurring within a system and therefore to lead to an im-
provement in the overall level of safety. Indicative methods implemented by our Industrial Safety Department include
the following:
• Hazard Identification Techniques (Human HAZOP, Technique for Human Error Assessment, THEA, etc.)
• Expert Judgement Techniques (Absolute Probability Judgment, APJ, etc.)
• Bow Tie Method in Human Reliability Assessment.

Occupational Health & Safety

J ob Safety Analysis is a powerful tool for keeping workplaces safer and associated costs from Lost Time Injury (LTI)
down. By observing a worker actually performing the job, an occupational risk assessment can be prepared com-
plemented by measurements of physical and chemical agents, when necessary. In this way, assessment of personal
exposure according to CSI guidelines can be conducted and an action plan can be drawn based on risk prioritization
in order to proactively address specific workplace hazards such as:
• Slips, trips and falls from height
• Warehouse safety assessment (racks, forklifts, cranes, fire protection)
• Confined space entry (e.g. silos etc.)
• Waste handling and storage related hazards
• Exposure to chemical substances (dust, respirable crystalline silica, etc.)
• Exposure to physical agents (vibration, noise etc.)
• Manual handling, repetitive tasks and poor workstation design hazards
SNCR Risk Analysis
M ore and more cement plants worldwide are choos-
ing the Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR) as
a cost-effective method to meet the legislative demand
of reducing NOx emission from combustion installations
that burn coal, biomass and waste. If ammonia or ammo-
nia solution is chosen to be the reducing agent, there are
certain hazards that need to be addressed in order to ef-
fectively manage explosion, toxic release, occupational and
environmental risks.
In this context, an SNCR Risk Analysis can consist of:
• As-built HAZOP & human HAZOP (PHA-pro software)
• Explosion Protection Verification (ATEX)
• Consequence Modelling (EFFECTS software)
• Quantitative Risk Assessment (RISKCURVES software)
• Ammonia Hazards and Emergency Procedure Training
Why Ergonomia
T he comparative advantage of Ergonomia is
the interdisciplinary approach. More than
15 skilled engineers of various disciplines and
certified in relevant fields (NEBOSH, ATEX, Ma-
chinery Safety, Functional Safety, HAZOP, BBS)
have been trained in the use of appropriate
software and have conducted numerous risk
assessments implementing a comprehensive
approach.
Ergonomia’s Industrial Safety Department has
managed to help cement industries worldwide
successfully comply with legal requirements
enhancing their overall safety level in the most
cost-efficient way.

Risk Management with Bow Ties

A Bow Tie diagram offers visualisation of hazards in order to facilitate comprehension of existing measures that
cover the whole range of activity of a cement plant and relate to occupational hazards, explosion hazards, risks
to quality, environment, etc. At the same time, it provides the possibility to depict an overview of the safety manage-
ment system and to identify those parts, that need further improvement through specific risk based safety audits.

partners with
 S e r v i c e s

• Explosion Protection Studies (ATEX)

• Safe Handling of Alternative Fuels

• Machinery Safety Assessments

(Machinery Safety Certified Engineers)

• Fire Protection Studies

• Risk Management with Bow Ties

• Occupational Safety & Health Risk Assessments

• Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA)

• HAZOP & LOPA (Design, As-built & Revalidating)

• Hazardous Area Electrical Inspection (CompEx Certified)

• Electrical Safety Assessments (Arc Flash, EN 60204)

• Human Error Analysis in Safety Critical Procedures (BBS)

• Industrial Lighting Studies

53-57, Karaoli Michail str.,

GR-142 31 N. Ionia - Attiki, GREECE
+30 210 2773327 +30 210 2773322
www.ergonomia.eu
industrial@ergonomia.gr INDUSTRIAL SAFETY