Booster Pumps & Boosters for People – Run to Failure?

Posted July 17th, 2009

A liquids pipeline often uses booster pumps to provide necessary pressure to move product from a tank into a pump on the pipeline.  These booster pumps are generally reliable, but do not last forever.  It is necessary to have a spare booster pump on hand, for when the booster pump in use fails.  Most pipeline operations run the pump to failure and then install the spare.  The pump that failed is then repaired, and becomes the spare.  One can question a maintenance philosophy that runs equipment until it fails, but it is a common philosophy.   A booster pump may run for several years before the motor or other component fails.  The key is to have a spare booster pump always on hand.   A decision one has to make is how many spares to have on hand.   Is one enough, or should they be more?

The pipeline industry has work schedules that require people to be on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.   People work 8 or 12 hour shifts, then exchange with another person in order to rest.  If only people were like equipment, operations would be simpler. People cannot run several years before failure, and supposedly companies do not want to run people to failure anyway.

The pipeline industry will soon have to meet the requirements of a rule that will require their companies to prevent pipeline accidents caused by human fatigue. The rule focuses on pipeline controllers, but let’s consider other jobs beside controller.   How long can one work before failure?   It varies.

When I was 19, I worked about 40 hours in a row on a pipeline construction project.   I functioned and completed tasks, even if I was very fatigued.  But I fell asleep on the two hour drive home, and had a serious accident with injuries.   When I was about 30, I worked about 35 hours in a row on a pipeline construction project.   I made it home safely that time.  Working till we completed the “job” was common.   I suspect I was close to failure, but there were no spares.   We had some boosters with caffeine, food, occasional breaks, and maybe a nap inside a truck.

The rule, even though it is not finalized, will  require companies to provide an option or “opportunity” for people to sleep at least eight hours between shifts.    Would that be sufficient to recover from the fatigue of working 12 hours and being up longer than that?   People need about eight hours of sleep each night to mitigate fatigue, and shift workers usually average about 6 and some of those hours are in the daytime when it is more difficult to sleep.   I think companies will need to have more people on hand – those spares like the spare booster pumps in the warehouse.   Both are necessary expenses, if the company is interested in both safety and profits.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 17th, 2009 at 2:22 pm and is filed under Human Factors, Managing Fatigue, Operational Excellence.