Project
Business Continuity Management for the city of Lucerne
Year
Country
CH
Project
Major Accident Prevention for Refrigeration Systems
The enforcement of the accident prevention ordinance for refrigeration systems is to be harmonised at a cantonal level. Working together with federal and cantonal representatives, as well as facility operators and refrigeration system manufacturers, we are drafting a set of criteria that is to serve as a guideline for the authors of short reports and risk assessments.
What criteria would it make sense to apply when enforcing the Major Accidents Ordinance in the case of refrigeration systems? And when would it be appropriate, and when not, to subject refrigeration system operators to the ordinance even if the amount of ammonia they store is less than that specified in the ordinance? Cantonal accident prevention agencies and the authors of short reports and risk assessments have so far lacked a comprehensive set of practical criteria for making decisions and providing a practice-based rationale for their decisions. This underscores the need to establish a guideline or a set of rules that would help to harmonise accident-prevention practices in the management of refrigeration systems and raise awareness among professionals of issues relating to accident prevention.
Working together with a group of experts from a broad range of backgrounds, we have completed the following assignments:
- Drafting of a simple evaluation procedure for determining when it is appropriate to subject refrigeration facility operators to the Major Accidents Ordinance when the amount of ammonia they store is less that that specified in the ordinance
- Drafting of key technical and safety requirements for ammonia refrigeration systems
- Drafting of a guideline for completing short reports in accordance with the Major Accidents Ordinance
- Drafting of a guideline for completing risk assessments in accordance with the Major Accidents Ordinance
