Monitoring and reporting dam safety operational risks based on bow tie methodology

Abstract

AbstractThis work focuses on the development of an approach considering the application of the bow tie methodology for monitoring and reporting the performance status of safety barriers used in collapse prevention of dams that store water for refinery process purposes, as well as for mitigation of the consequences in case of materialization of this scenario. After elaboration of the bow tie diagram in collaboration with technical specialists directly involved in dams' safety, the integrity of barriers is determined based on information collected from each dam at an operational level. Considering the literature review carried out, one of the most important contributions of this research (besides the bow tie diagram itself) consists in the proposition of a periodic reporting process of barriers performance indicators to managers responsible for each barrier in order to properly support risk management, permeating all the relevant technical and hierarchical levels (including communications upwards the board—top management). Its main motivation lies in lessons learned from several past major accidents, such as Macondo, Texas City, and, the Brumadinho catastrophe itself, regarding the need for safety information to “travel upwards” on the companies' hierarchy in order to properly and quickly support the decision‐making process, contributing to the strengthening of safety culture inside the organizations.