On the 30th anniversary of Piper Alpha, and as founder of Zulu Joint Integrity Ltd I reflect briefly upon the fight that we still encounter within UK industry (particularly COMAH sites) regarding the frustrations of introducing a formal joint integrity procedure that complies with legislation and industry guidelines. These are my own views and do not necessarily reflect those of our business, however having 20 years experience with joint integrity management I believe it is an accurate account of the 'state of the nation' - both in the UK and further afield.

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July 13th
2018
On the recent 30th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster, I have reflected on how
in many ways the industry has changed for the better in terms of process safety and
business improvement techniques to reduce the chances of similar disasters
occurring. Conversely and specifically in terms of mechanical joint integrity of bolted
joints, I also reflect sadly on how many on-shore industrial assets still do not adhere
to legislation, industry guidelines and best practice.
I think it's fair to say that there are many 'blue chip' companies out there that either
pay lip service to the subject matter or in fact do not have any formal processes or
procedures to ensure that all work on bolted joints are executed and completed
safely and in a controlled manner. It really is a gamble and only through sheer
chance that accidents and incidents have not occurred.
I often ask myself why aren’t companies within the petrochemical, oil/gas and
chemical industries STILL not adopting controlled bolting methods? Also in a time
where the UK engineering age profile is seeing huge 'gaps' and where lack of
apprenticeships is still a concern why aren’t organisations keen to prove competency
of their workforce? I'm sure we have all witnessed the 'chancers' that continually
travel throughout the land - from one turnaround.... to another shutdown..... then onto
a project and consequently the disorder that they can cause.

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'We've always done it this way!" is a term that I have heard throughout my career.
And quite frankly that answer or statement is not good enough. It's human instinct to
be reluctant to change. But change can be a good thing - particularly when it
concerns safe working practices.
The subject matter of mechanical joint integrity for bolted joints is often overlooked or
disregarded whether because of 'cost' implications or whether through sheer
ignorance. And for some organisations within our industry, change can be painful
and on times any decision is made with a glacial pace.
I have been involved in joint integrity management for almost 20 years and in that
time, I have witnessed best practice and sadly I've seen things that you
wouldn't believe (or maybe some of you would!) - however the one constant
throughout this time frame is my personal interest in the subject matter and the drive
that our business has in relation to supporting industry - to eradicate the old ways
and to assist in adopting the new. To champion the cause, support the subject
matter, to show diligence and assist organisations with compliance. Despite the bad
practices, the ignorance and the reluctance to change, the fight must go on...
The primary function of Zulu is to help support COMAH sites across the UK (and
further afield) to ensure that best practice is carried out, compliance of industry
guidelines are followed and maintained and that the transfer of underpinning
knowledge is delivered to help assure competency of personnel.
Don't get me wrong there are countless organisations that fully embrace it and in fact
many of our own existing clients are 'leaders' in their respective industries in terms of
driving joint integrity management throughout their process plants. But even with this
in mind - for every organisation that fully embraces it, there will be another that does
not. Old methods are not always the right methods and cutting corners or neglecting
procedures can have catastrophic consequences. As with many disasters around the
world, sadly it takes the loss of life for the industry to sit up and change its practices
for the better. There are many case studies of accidents and incidents relating to
lack of joint integrity management or lack of competency and we discuss several of
these when delivering our training courses - and although not directly attributed to
joint integrity management (or lack of), I hope we never see another Piper Alpha......
or Texas City or Bhopal but as time advances I am not so sure. After all a safe, leak-
free startup of process plant is no gambling matter.
Christopher Mellows
Zulu Joint Integrity Ltd

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For further details on our services please contact our dedicated team on;
Tel: UK +44(0)1656 336990
email: info@zulujointintegrity.co.uk
Or contact me direct on 07724 201238 or email me at;
chrism@zulujointintegrity.co.uk to discuss further.
www.zulujointintegrity.co.uk
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