Evaluating the Safety Operations Procedures of an LPG Storage and Distribution Plant with STAMP

Abstract

International audience ; System thinking concepts and simulation tools are used to model the risk prevention plan and operational modes designed to enforce safety constraints at a French liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage and distribution facility. In France, such facilities are classified and the subject of special legislation and safety regulations. Their supervision is the responsibility of a control and regulatory body. A technological risk and prevention plan is provided, where all the dangerous phenomena likely to occur in addition to the safety control measures are listed in the safety report. Safety is therefore addressed through rules, and control mechanisms ensure that the system complies with safety constraints. Taking this facility as a case study, we use the STAMP theoretical framework together with AnyLogic simulation software to model technical elements and human and organizational behavior. We simulate how the system evolves over time and the strategies that are deployed in a loss of control scenario. The aim is to assess whether the prescribed safety program covers all of the system's phases; namely operations and audits. The results enrich other research that focuses on the contribution of system dynamics to risk analysis and accident prevention.