Respond to treatment plant operational emergencies

This standard is about responding to emergencies in water, wastewater or sludge treatment processing plants. Emergencies could be in relation to contamination of the water supply or health and safety issues.

It includes evacuating the area, informing people and displaying safety warnings, isolating and shutting down plant and equipment, putting temporary arrangements in place, restoring plant and equipment to operational performance, restarting and recommissioning plant and equipment and maintaining records.

The Standard is suitable for supervisors at water, wastewater and sludge treatment processing plants.

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1. ensure that safety equipment is in place and operational at all times, in accordance with organisational procedures
2. keep access clear to work area, escape routes and emergency and safety equipment at all times
3. follow organisational checks and procedures to identify safety hazards
4. deal with identified safety hazards without delay and in accordance with organisational procedures
5. report problems and seek assistance from designated people for difficulties outside your area of responsibility
6. issue and display safety warnings in accordance with emergency procedures
7. inform affected people about potential hazards and the timings of any remedial action, directing them to a safe area when appropriate
8. ensure only authorised people are allowed access to the work area during emergencies
9. isolate or shut-down plant and equipment in accordance with organisational procedures and required timescales
10. put temporary arrangements in place which protect the operation of plant until problems are resolved
11. restore plant and equipment to specified operational performance in accordance with organisational requirements and safety procedures
12. re-start and re-commission plant and equipment in accordance with organisational procedures when it is safe to do so
13. arrange for waste materials to be disposed of in accordance with safe working practice and organisational procedures.
14. maintain and store incident management records in an auditable format in organisational systems
15. follow security procedures in accordance with organisational protocols and policies

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1. water industry legislation, standards, codes of practice, industry regulations, organisational processes and safe working practices for health, safety, and hygiene in relation to your job role
2. water industry legislation, standards, codes of practice, industry regulations, organisational processes and safe working practices for quality and environmental protection in relation to your job role including waste disposal and measures to reduce harmful emissions and substances
3. procedures for coordinating function tests and checks on safety and emergency equipment including breathing apparatus, firefighting systems, external alarms when activated from the control room, override systems and their status, CCTV and video equipment, integrity of control equipment
4. the potential hazards associated with the working area and the consequences of major accident hazards
5. organisational checks and procedures to identify safety hazards
6. organisational emergency procedures including those relating to obtaining emergency services
7. typical and unusual problems which may occur and how these can be resolved
8. the layout of plant and instrumentation in the working area and the location and position of emergency exits, muster points and emergency equipment
9. organisational shut down, isolation, start-up and re-commissioning procedures for plant and equipment and factors to be considered for each
10. organisational procedures and factors to be considered for temporary arrangements including diverting flows, bypassing treatment process units and operating temporary plant
11. the repair work required to bring the plant back to specified condition
12. organisational reporting lines and authorisation procedures and limits of responsibility and authority
13. the importance of maintaining site security and who is authorised to access the work area during emergencies
14. requirements for signage during emergencies and what constitutes a safe area
15. organisational requirements for storing and retrieving information including maintenance records and emergency responses and the importance of following confidentiality and cyber security protocols

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1

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2027

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Current

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Original

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Energy & Utility Skills

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N/A

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Engineering, Science and Engineering Technicians, Water Processing Supervisors

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8134

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emergency, emergencies, hazard, risk, respond, response, treatment plant, water, waste water, sludge

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