- Environment
lightning, earthquake, flooding, abnormally high or low temperatures contributing od directlycausing the incident (note: galvanic corrosion is not an example of 'force majeure' as the others here, it is part of the technical risk assessment and therefore does not belong to this category)
- Human factors
individual/human factors, i.e. inadequate skill and competence levels; individual medical problems; mistakes, etc.
- Installation error
for example, wrong consumables replacement after maintenance; components erroneously installed (one-way valves; bolts with wrong dimension, not properly sitting in the flange);
- Job factors
lack of (clear) instructions (example, when purging); Lack of maintenance or inspection - poorly maintained equipment ; training and enforcement of safety practice and procedures; high workload; noisy and unpleasant working conditions; constant disturbances and interruptions, etc.
- Management factors
poor work planning; leading to high work pressure; lack of safety systems and barriers; failure to learn from previous incidents; management too biased to one-way communications; lack of co-ordination and clear definition of responsibilities; poor management of health and safety; poor safety culture.
- Material/ manufacturing error
for example, material compatibility; failure due to ageing of (sub)-components (welds, flanges, O-rings, gaskets, seals, etc.); premature opening of the burst disks;
- System design error
Inadequate mechanical integrity measures; corrosion-related loss of integrity; inadequate design of pressure relief valves, venting components; lack of attention to risk of hydrogen accumulation; Inappropriate material choices; unwanted hydrogen generation; Inadequate process hazards analysis; Inadequate operating procedures.
