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The shape of a blasted rock mass, or simply muckpile, affects the efficiency of loading machines. A muckpile is defined with two main parameters known as throw and drop, while several blasting parameters will influence the muckpile shape. This paper studies the prediction of the muckpile shape in open-pit mines by applying an artificial neural network designed by a genetic algorithm. In that regard, a genetic algorithm has been used in preparing the neural network architecture and parameters. Moreover, input variables have been reduced using the principal component analysis. Finally, the best models for predicting throw and drop determined. Analyzing the performance of the proposed models indicates their superiority in predicting the muckpile shape. As a result, the Mean Squared Error of the throw was 0.53 for the training data and 1.24 for the testing data. While for the drop, the errors were 0.45 and 0.58 for the training and testing data, respectively. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis shows that specific-charge effects drop and throw more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accident statistics indicate that the majority of accidents at four categories of human, environment, equipment, and reputation of a community have mainly occurred in the process industries. Amongst them, the Oil and Gas industries have a significant portion, as these industries handle large quantities of flammable, toxic chemicals, and exposure to the high potential of serious accidents. Having considered these issues, it is essential to execute an in place safe system of work in such industries. Permit to work system (PTWS) is one of the most important and effective key of HSE-MS sub-systems, which has a significant role in identifying, predicting, controlling, and eliminating hazards of activities and probable accidents at workplaces. As a question for this research, it is being used in the oil and gas industry. Currently used PTWS method at gas refineries in Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ) is a paper -based management system document, based on the statistical results obtained using the experiences of trustees and experts, which intrinsically contains some defects and deficiencies; consequently it could not provide sufficient and effective barriers. These inherent PTWS errors and faults as the data-based permit to work system (D.B.P.T.W) are leading the operating system to different types of accidents, and finally system failures and catastrophic disasters. Therefore, in this study Bayesian theory was applied for the conditional probability of fault creator cases (FCCs) of PTWS assessment. Fault creator cases analysis in permit to work system with changes in the current PTWS were used (Current Permit to Work, C.P.T.W) in gas refineries by logical management. So that the use of this new method based on historical and interconnected and multi-faceted fault factors communication and also disconformity/capability for immediate and simultaneous informing and discovering on the relevant system components and also according to a Bayesian analysis on seven important and critical variables for both CPTWS and DPTW.S for pessimist and optimist statuses may improve the protection safety layers and it is possible to decease and finally eliminate accidents as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP) level at gas refinery plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inherently Safer Design (ISD) is served as an important and crucial step for Industrial Safety Management Systems. It is simpler, cheaper, and more efficient to eliminate and/or reduce inherent hazards. However, uncertainty, relativity, ambiguousness, and quality/quantity transformations disrupt the implementation of ISD. As advantages of fuzzy reasoning, naming problems can be resolved in order to have a justified and sophisticated decision making about Inherently Safer Design Assessment. Accordingly in this paper, ISD four principles: 1. Elimination/Substitution, 2. Minimization, 3. Moderation, and 4. Simplification enters the Fuzzy Mamdani system: Fuzzy ISD Index (FISDI) to accomplish Fuzzy Inherently Safer Design Assessment. Inputs and outputs of the FISDI range from 0 to 100 and are categorized in 5 triangular membership functions. The proposed FISDI is applied for the acetic acid production unit. The unit is divided into 7 zones, the four principles based checklist is provided for each zone, and the FISDI is computed for each zone, then the total FISDI is computed for the unit. The results show that the minimum, maximum and total FISDIs equal to 29, 72 and 45.1 correspondingly. The whole plant FISDI data is compared to the classic ISDI. The cross-validation accomplished via CFtool in MatLab presents the mean slope of 0.7181 and mean R2=0.7885 which is a justified curve fitting within the scope of the study philosophy_70% of the ISD. The FISDI mainly underestimates the aggregative ISDI. It is noted that the most conformed and the least conformed zone cross-validations are determined as Zone 4 and Zone 7 respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Permit to Work System (PTWS) provides a practical framework for the commitment of no harm to people or the environment to be respected by staffs and contractors. Furthermore, PTWS try to provide an effective means for identification of significant hazards and management of HSE risk activities that could result in serious or fatal injuries. The significance of PTWS role is more prominent in industries such as gas and oil refineries. Since a small failure or fault in these industries may lead to a catastrophic human and environmental disasters or enormous economic losses. South Pars Gas Complex (SPGC), Bushehr Province, Southern of Iran, is one of those industries which PTWS is an important part of operational risk and safety management. In this study in 2016, SPGC's PTWS disconformities are investigated, and an innovative checklist for system disconformity identification is proposed for auditing PTWS procedure. Surveys and interviews with 14 experts by using structured Delphi method in two rounds indicated that questions raised in the checklist are system identification. Finally, audit quarries suggested in the checklist are divided into 10 main categories. First: SIMOPS Immediate, data sharing, 2-High risk activity, 3-Confined space entry activities, 4-HNF activities immediate data sharing, 5-Protecting PTWS counterfeit, 6-Immediate risk assessment, 7-Capability of permits tracing, 8-Capability of MOC and any flexibility, 9-Cost saving capability, 10-Immediate MSDS. This study was promoted PTW systems to ensure that authorized and competent people have thought about foreseeable HSE risks and that these risks are eliminated or minimized by using suitable control measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Permit to Work System (PTWS) provides a practical framework for the commitment of no harm to people or the environment to be respected by staffs and contractors. Furthermore PTWS try to provide an effective means for identification of significant hazards and management of HSE risk activities which could result in serious or fatal injuries. The significance of PTWS role is more prominent in industries such as gas and oil refineries. Since a small failure or fault in these industries may lead to a catastrophic human and environmental disasters or enormous economic losses. South Pars Gas Complex (SPGC)'s is one of those industries which PTWS is an important part of operational risk and safety management. In this study SPGC's PTWS disconformities are investigated, and an innovative checklist for system disconformity identification is proposed for auditing PTWS procedure. For this aim the results of surveys and interviews with 14 experts using structured Delphi method in two rounds, indicated that questions raised in the checklist are system identification. Finally audit quarries suggested in the checklist are divided into 10 main categories of: 1-SIMOPS Immediate, data sharing, 2-High risk activity, 3-Confined space entry activities, 4-HNF activities immediate data sharing, 5-Protecting PTWS counterfeit, 6-Immediate risk assessment, 7-Capability of permits tracing, 8-Capability of MOC and any flexibility, 9-Cost saving capability, 10-Immediate MSDS. So that, this study will promote PTW systems to ensure that authorized and competent people have thought about foreseeable HSE risks and that these risks are eliminated or minimized by using suitable control measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]