Major Accident Hazard Understanding

Barriers can be classified as either plant, processes or people. They must work independently to stop the event from occurring or escalating. However, when there are multiple barriers, they can work together to provide layers of protection.

There are different ways of demonstrating how barriers work together to manage Major Accident Hazard risks and the bowtie model is one common and effective way. The bowtie model shows the threats on the left-hand side and the consequences on the right-hand side, with the incident being the knot in the middle. Barriers placed on the left hand side prevent the incident occurring and the barriers on the right-hand side mitigate the consequences if an incident were to happen.

The bowtie below shows some barriers that could prevent or mitigate against a major accident. (Note some barriers could sit on either or both sides)

All workers travelling offshore must undertake MIST (Minimum Industry Safety Training), which has a Major Accident Hazard module contained within it. For onshore workers, an e-learning module has been developed to help them understand how they can play their part in improving safety offshore. This is particularly useful for roles such as logistics, procurement and HR, who may not realise the impact they may have on preventing Major Accidents and many member organisations include this module in their company inductions.

This training is free to all employees of member companies. Contact your company focal point for access to the module.