Discussion-MODULE 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion-MODULE 5 - Essay Example The Chinese rivers fostered agricultural development and population growth while the Chinese coastline and the Grand Canal unified China by promoting communication and integration. The Chinese history entailed Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties that developed early ideologies. The Confucian ideology promoted the Xia dynasty. The Shang dynasty promoted the development of Bronze technology and written language as well as ancestral beliefs. The Zhou dynasty established a strong centralized government that manifested how heaven delegates authority to strong and wise rulers and condemns failed leaders. From the primary source readings, we derive the Confucian philosophy that valued universal order, respect of children for their parents, moral cultivation of men, social harmony, state service, and ethical and competent leadership. The Confucian philosophy asserts that a virtuous person should know their place in the society and offer their best. Daoism addressed violence, arbitrary laws, and strict social hierarchy by valuing a simple and individual life. Daoism asserts that a virtuous person should cultivate harmony with nature and with other individuals by living a simple life and fostering unity of purpose. Legalism values strict laws and harsh punishments to maintain centralized leadership. It also values the head of state as a divine leader who should derive respect and authority from a virtuous person. From the video "Engineering an Empire,† Qin Shih Huang Di came to power after defeating the last Warring State in 221 BC and declaring himself the first Sovereign Emperor of Qin. Qin Shih Huang Di brought stability and unity to China after the Warring States Period by introducing a new currency, standardizing the Chinese units of measurements, abolishing Confucianism and feudalism, and using military power to enhance state unity. Indeed, Qin Shih Huang Di manifested extensive power by relying on military power, abolishing feudal holdings, forcing

Insulin Production From Genetically Modified Bacteria Biology Essay

Insulin Production From Genetically Modified Bacteria Biology Essay In the 1970s people suffering from diabetes mellitus used insulin from cattle pigs, but this was expensive time consuming. Moreover insulin from other animals was not exactly as same as those in humans, causing many side-effects. Also many people were against the use of animal insulin for ethical or religious reasons. This problem had to be solved in 1970s biotechnological companies began working of genetically modifying a bacterium to produce insulin by insertion of a human gene. many different methods were tried tested, then finally in the early 1980s they suceeded, this was agreat achievement in the science world. the procedure was as follows :- Isolation of insulin gene insulin is a small protein . the first challenge was to isloate the insulin gene from the rest of the DNA in the human cell. But there was a problem doing so directly, instead the mRNA carrying the code for synthesizing insulin was extracted from the cells in the pancreas that produces insulin, called B-cells. then the mRNA was left in incubation with reverse transcriptase, reverse transcriptase is a special retrovirus, it does the opposite of transcription i.e codes for DNA from RNA, this newly coded DNA is called complimentary DNA or simply cDNA. at first single stranded molecules were formed, which then turned in double helix. these DNA molecules carried the code for human insulin. these DNA molecules then needed to be stuck to other DNA strands, so they were given sticky ends by adding lenghts of single stranded DNA made up of guanine nucleotide to each end using enzyymes. insertion of gene into a vector for the human insulin gene to be inserted into a bacterium, there has to be an intermediate carrier of the gene called a vector this was a plasmid. plasmids are small circular pieces of DNA found in many bacteria. plasmids can freely move into bacterium cells and if we are able to insert the human DNA inside the plasmid then insert plasmid into a bacterium. To obatin the plasmids from the bacteria containing them, these bacteria frist had to be mixed with enzymes to dissolve their cell walls. then centrifuged so that large organelles e.g chromosomes small ones like plasmids would be seperated. restriction enzymes were used to slice open the the circular DNA making up the plasmid. sticky ends were added again but this time the nucleotide used to make them conatined cytosine guanine bases on their ends paired up. DNA ligase was then used to link the nucleotide backbone together so that the human insulin gene became part of tthe plasmid. this was the manufacture of recombinant DNA. Advantages of treating diabetes by human insulin There are a number of advantages of using the human insulin produced by genetically engineered bacteria: it is chemically identical to the insulin that would have been produced had they not been diabetic, so there is little chance of an immune response because it is an exact fit in the human insulin receptors in human cell surface membranes, it brings about a much more rapid response than pig or cow insulin, like natural human insulin, the duration of the response is much shorter than pig or cattle insulin, it overcomes problems related to the development of a tolerance to insulin from pigs or cattle, it avoids any ethical issues that might arise from the use pig or cattle insulin, for example, religious objections to the use of pig insulin or objections from vegetarians to the use of animal products. Benefits of gene technology Through gene technology, it is now possible to produce: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ genetically modified organisms for a specific purpose. Previously, such genetic change would have to be brought about by selective breeding which requires organisms to be of the same species (able to breed successfully together), takes many generations and involves transfer of whole genomes, complete with undesirable background genes. Gene technology is much faster and involves transferring one or few genes, which may come from completely unrelated organisms, even from different kingdoms. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ specific products, such as human insulin and human growth hormone, thereby reducing the dependence on products from other, less reliable sources, such as pig or cow insulin. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ reduce use of agrochemicals such as herbicides and pesticides since crops can be made resistant to particular herbicides, or can be made to contain toxins that kill insects à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ clean up specific pollutants and waste materials bioremediation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ potential for use of gene technology to treat genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis (see below) and SCID (Severe Combined Immune Deficiency) as well as in cancer treatment. Hazards of genetic engineering Genes inserted into bacteria could be transferred into other bacterial species, potentially including antibiotic resistance genes and those for other materials, which could result in antibiotic resistance in pathogens, or in bacteria that can produce toxic materials or break down useful materials. Regulation is designed to minimise the risks of escape of such genes. There is little evidence that such genes have escaped into wild bacterial populations. Crop plants have, by their nature, to be released into the environment to grow, and many millions of hectares of genetically engineered crops, both experimental and commercial, are planted across the globe. So far, fears that they might turn out to be super-weeds, resistant to herbicides and spreading uncontrollably, or that their genes might transfer into other closely related wild species, forming a different kind of super-weed, or that they might reduce biodiversity by genetic contamination of wild relatives seem to have proved unfounded. A paper was published in Nature in 2001 showing that Mexican wild maize populations were contaminated with genes from genetically manipulated maize, but the methods used were flawed and subsequent studies have not confirmed this contamination, suggesting that the wild maize is not genetically contaminated. There is some evidence that Bt toxin, geneticially engineered into plants such as cotton and maize, whilst very effective in killing the targe t species, may kill other, desirable, insects such as bees and butterflies, and may also cause natural selection of Bt toxin resistant insects. Future events may show that such environmental risks are greater than they look at present. Food that is derived from genetically engineered organisms may prove to be unexpectedly toxic or to trigger allergic reactions when consumed. There is little reliable evidence that this has been so, but the risk remains. Food containing the expressed products of antibiotic resistance marker genes could be consumed at the same time as treatment with the antibiotic was occurring, which would potentially reduce the effectiveness of the treatment. No examples of this are known. social ethical implocations of genetic engineering ethics are set of rules set by people distinguishing between whats acceptable and whats not, between whats right and whats wrong. these ethics or rules change from a person to person depedning upon knowledge, experience, social influnce, religious influence etc. The social impact of gene technology is to do with its potential and actual impact of human society and individuals. In terms of social impact, gene technology could: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ enhance crop yields and permit crops to grow outside their usual location or season so that people have more food à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ enhance the nutritional content of crops so that people are better fed à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ permit better targeted clean-up of wastes and pollutants à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ lead to production of more effective and cheaper medicines and treatments through genetic manipulation of microorganisms and agricultural organisms to make medicines and genetic manipulation of human cells and individuals (gene therapy) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ produce super-weeds or otherwise interfere with ecosystems in unexpected ways, reducing crop yields so that people have less food à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ increase costs of seed and prevent seed from being retained for sowing next year (by inclusion of genes to kill any seed produced this way) reducing food production à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ reduce crop biodiversity by out-competing natural crops so that people are less well fed à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ damage useful materials such as oil or plastic in unexpected ways à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ cause antibiotics to become less useful and cause allergic reactions or disease in other unexpected ways The ethical impact is about the application of moral frameworks concerning the principles of conduct governing individuals and groups, including what might be thought to be right or wrong, good or bad. So in the context of gene technology, it is to do with issues of whether is right or wrong to conduct research and develop technologies, whether it is good or bad. Judgements may be that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It is good to conduct such research to develop technologies that might improve nutrition, the environment or health à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It is good to use the results of such research to produce food, to enhance the environment or improve health à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It is wrong to continue such research when the potential impact of the technology is unknown and many aspects of it remain to be understood. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It is wrong to use the results of such research even when the organisms are kept in carefully regulated environments such as sterile fermenters as the risks of the organisms or the genes they contain escaping are too great and unknown à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It is wrong to use the results of such research when this involves release of gene technology into the environment as once it is released it cannot be taken back the genes are self-perpetuating, and the risks that they might cause in future are unknown The social and ethical implications of gene technology are complex and relatively unfamiliar to people who are not scientists, including those involved in the media and in government. This complexity and unfamiliarity is the cause of considerable concern and debate. In considering the implications of gene technology the best approach is to avoid the general (e.g. avoid it is bad to play God) and stick to the specific and balanced (e.g. it is possible to increase food crop yields with gene technology so more people can be fed, but there is enough food already if it is properly distributed, so people should not be forced to eat products with unknown risks).

Machiavellis the Prince: By Any Means Necessary :: essays research papers

Machiavelli's "The Prince": By Any Means Necessary Part 15 of Machiavelli's The Prince, entitled Of the Things for Which Men, and Especially Princes, Are Praised or Blamed, states that, in order for a man to maintain control of a government and better that territory, he must engage in certain actions that may be deemed immoral by the public he serves. Machiavelli argues a valid point, that the nature of man is twofold, encompassing good and evil, right and wrong. The effectiveness of his argument, however, relies on the fact that the person reading his essay is an objective observer of human nature. Not leaving this to chance, Machiavelli plays a psychological game with the reader in order to convince them of his argument. Machiavelli prefaces his thesis with commentary that attempts to place the reader in a subordinate state-of-mind. He confesses to the reader that he fears sounding presumptuous for writing about a subject covered many times before by others and differing from their opinion in the matter. This statement places the author at the mercy of the reader and prepares them to hear an idea that may not be popular. Having been asked forgiveness for the pride of the author, the reader drops barriers that he may have against arguments driven by ego and opens his mind to Machiavelli on a personal, sincere level. By placing himself at the feet of the reader, Machiavelli puts himself and his argument in a position of power. He wastes no time in using this power to gain more control over the reader. In the next sentence he states that his intention is to create an outline for behavior in public office â€Å" of use to those who understand†. This statement compels the reader to agree with the points that the trustworthy, forthright Machiavelli argues, or be relegated the ranks of those ignorant dullards that do not understand. Machiavelli then presents his thesis, that a ruler must use both good and evil in order to maintain his power over the state. The reader has almost no choice but to accept this idea before any proof has been given. With the reader in the palm of his hand, Machiavelli needs only to make a very general argument of his point to convince the reader of its validity. The author states that there are actions for which a prince is either praised or blamed. He lists many examples of good qualities and their opposing attitudes. Instead of labeling them good and evil, however, Machiavelli titles them imaginary and real. By calling the good traits and the leader who possesses

Health safety and the environment report feyzin

The aim of this project is to describe the incident which took place in Feyzin, south of France, on Tuesday January 4th 1966. This project describes the history of the refinery, a description of the LPG manufacture processes, the cause of the accident, details of the accident, inquires and safety measures, conclusion and personal recommendations. A focus group for the project was the first approach on research to explore people's ideas and attitudes to the accident. There were several weekly group meetings excluding the weekly tutor meetings putting forward ideas discussing whether the accident could have been for seen and reasonable measures were in place. Each member of the group was assigned a particular area in which they were to collect information. The required information was gathered from various highly reliable sources such as a HSE investigation. History And Background Information. Feyzin is situated in the suburbs of Lyon in the southern part of France. The France national petroleum was located in Feyzin. The refinery at Feyzin had started operating in 1964. The main objective of this processing plant was to produce 1.7 million tonnes a year of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). LPG is a by-product of the distillation of oil from crude oil. When the distillate is put under pressure its physical state changes into a liquid. It is in this form that LPG is transported around in cylinder tanks. Because of the relatively short life span of the site prior to the incident, the cascade of events may be relatively short and that major issues will have risen during both the design and construction of the site. We can assume now that the plant was between its 1st and 2nd year of operation. LPG is a combination of Propane (Pressure 12 Bar, 37 degrees Celsius) and Butane (Pressure 2.6 Bar, 37 degrees Celsius).The LPG is used as an alternative to petrol.[Aarding India Pvt Ltd, 2007] The LPG is important because it is widely used as a fuel for vehicles and as cooking gas since its manufacture. They are also used as Industrial fuel and heating oils which are vital for many process plants. [Herman F. Mark et al, 1982] LPG is employed for starting up solid-fuel and oil-fired boilers supplying turbo generators. It is potential stand by for gas turbine generating equipment run on interruptible gas supplies. Its use for peak-load turbines will be economical to some circumstances. [BP trading ltd, 1972] Cascade events The causes of the deadly incident which took place at Feyzin There were quite a few reasons reported which were believed to be the causes of the explosion. Cause of the leakage: Three operators opened 2-inch valves which were mounted in series at a bottom of a 1200m3 propane spherical tank. The valves did not close at a LPG tank which contained 1200kl propane, which led to the leakage of LPG gas, a major cause of the explosion. For LPG that is Propane gas, when the pressure is lowered to atmospheric one the temp drops to -40. At this temperature moisture in air is frozen, but also the moisture reacts with LPG forming a solid hydrate. So either the downstream valve did not close tightly because of hydrate formation or the valve handle was stuck by the frozen moisture. This accident was believed to be caused as the upstream valve was not opened fully and the pressure at the outlet of the first valve was near the atmospheric pressure, the pressure difference cooled. It is very wrong to operate the valve system like that. Therefore, the cause of the explosion is either the operator's human mistake or a mistake on the management not to inform the proper execution of the operation. Cause of the ignition: The leaked LPG is presumed to be travelled for a distance and spread along the ground. A car driving down a local road might have sparked the ignition which is maybe due to the driver's cigarette or the car engine's hot temperature. Note that the layout of the plant was restricted to the landscape; a highway was constructed just 50m away from the large LPG tanks which exploded during the incident. Moreover there was no dike around the tanks which exploded, when large amount of LPG leaked, the vapour flew along the ground to the highway. The main cause of the ignition is that there was no dike around the LPG tanks and the distance regulation insufficient. Secondly, the legs of the spherical tank were made of iron which weren't fire proof. Thirdly, is that the distance between the adjacent tanks was really close, The actual distance between the centre of the tanks was just 27m according to the facility information provided. This proves that the adjacent tanks were affected so easily from the explosion of the first tank. Event A BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion) was the disaster that occurred at Feyzin. It is an explosion phenomenon caused by the rapid phase change (vaporization) of a liquid. At 6:30am three operators started the water draining operation of a tank. Two valves were opened in series on the bottom of the sphere. When the operation was nearly complete, the upper valve was closed and then cracked open again. No flow came out of the cracked valve, so it was opened further. The blockage, assumed to be ice or hydrate, cleared and propane gushed out. The operator was unable to close the upper valve and by the time he attempted to close the lower valve this was also frozen open. The LPG leak started here because that valve was not closed completely. After a few minutes the operators were covered in propane vapour. The leaking LPG spread in the direction of the highway, with partially vaporizing. The alarm rang in the control room at this time. At around 7:05am; the alarm rang and it is not clear if it rang throughout the Feyzin districts or just the Feyzin refinery. The first fire truck of the factory turned out immediately. After this the traffic on the highway next to the refinery was stopped. The fire brigade of Lyon arrived at 7:20. Just after 7:30am, a car came and stopped on the local road where the traffic had not been stopped. The explosion apparently occurred after the car had stopped. The fire increased in power, spread along the leaking LPG, and the tank was overcome with flames immediately. By 8:40am the first tank at the refinery exploded by the BLEVE. The second and third spherical tanks exploded five minutes later. Two more spherical tanks and many oil tanks burned continuously. The next day in the morning the fire was extinguished. As a result of this it was reported that 18-81 persons died and about 80-130 persons got injured included members of the fire fighting team. The physical damage included five LPG tanks, many atmospheric tanks containing crude oil and jet fuel, and so on. The Feyzin Refinery suffered extensive damage. The LPG tank farm where the sphere was located consisted of four 1200 m3 propane and four 2000 m3 butane spheres. The fire brigade arrived on site, but were not experienced in dealing in refinery fires, and it appears they did not attempt to cool the burning sphere. They concentrated their hoses on cooling the remaining spheres. About 90 minutes after the initial leakage, the sphere ruptured, killing the men nearby. A wave of liquid propane flowed over the compound wall and fragments of the ruptured sphere cut through the legs of the next sphere which toppled over. The relief valve on this tank began to emit liquid. What is believed to have happened on the day of the accident is: the upstream valve was not opened fully and the pressure at the outlet of the first valve was near atmospheric pressure, hence the upstream valve was cooled by the pressure difference. It is absolutely prohibited to operate valves in such manner. Therefore, the cause of the accident is either the operator's human error or a mistake on management side in not explaining the proper operation protocols. Another contributing factor to the accident is that the operator did not close the downstream valve. There is insufficient information available to why this valve was not closed. It is assumed that either ice is generated in the downstream valve like in the upstream valve or a rapid large LPG leak occurred, the operator may have panicked when they could not close the upstream valve and therefore may have not remembered to close the downstream valve. Basically they had to decrease the downstream valve opening when the LPG began to appear in the drain water. Then the valve had to be closed at the end of the drain work. Either they forgot to carry out this procedure or they could not close the second valve because it had also become stuck by freezing. 1) Valve A is closed 2) Valve A cracks open 3) Valve A becomes blocked due to freezing 4) No flow through valve A 5) Valve A is opened 6) Ice block in valve A becomes dislodged 7) Valve A freezes in open position 8) Unable to close valve A 9) Valve B freezes in open position 10) Unable to close valve B 11) Pressure sphere fluid leaks through open valves 12) Fluid level in pressure vessel drops decreasing internal pressure 13) Liquid propane begins to boil due to pressure drop 14) Pressure in vessel increases due to liberated gaseous propane 15) Fluid flow through valves A and B increases due to increase in pressure 16) Vessel pressure continues to increase 17) Pressure vessel ruptures 18) Gaseous propane escapes vessel Recommendations and summary * Geographical location and details * History of Feyzin, including cascade events * Incident timeline and possible description of why it happened * Geographical effects of the incident * Results of the inquiry and official recommendations * Personal recommendations not covered by the enquiry Geographical location and details In order to get a better understanding of the scale of the Feyzin incident, it is important to note the location of the site in regards to the local area in which the site was and still is positioned. This will give an indication to understanding the safety procedures that were in place at the time of the incident and how emergency procedures were carried out at the time. It has proven very difficult to obtain a clear picture of the geographical location either prior to or following the incident of the site and so it will be assumed that the current location of the site, circa 2009, is the same location at the time of the incident. Close examination of this map may also indicate the most likely positioning of the epicentre of the primary detonation. Fig 1. Map of Feyzin Birds eye view 2009 Sandwiched between the A7 Expressway to the east of the site and the ‘Le grand large' river to the west, on close examination, it appears that some form of storage containers are located just west of the top E15 label in the image. This may lead us to assume that the storage containers were in the same location prior to the 1966 incident. On a broader scale it may also be seen that this location is approximately 10 km south of the major city of Lyon. Research suggests that at the time of the incident, the site lacked any serious on site systems in case of a major crisis, relying more on the local public services to resolve anything arising such as the incident in question. Again on close inspection of the map, it can be seen that the site is placed within a fairly urbanised area. Again we must assume a similar layout at the time of the incident though populations will be quite different from the 1966 incident and the 2009 map. This will assist in understanding the cause of the incident overall and the scale of the overall effect in this area. Apart from just repeating the timeline for the actual incident, it is important to try and understand why the incident took place, outside of the events leading up to and after what happened. The sequence of events surrounding the cracking and freezing of the ‘upper' valve, and the subsequent rupture of the pressure vessel need to be understood, in order to get a better understanding of how such a crises may be avoided in the future. These events may only have taken place over a very short time frame but they are essential to understanding the crises. One of the critical questions that should be asked is why following the closure of valve A and the subsequent cracking and freezing up of the valve, was the valve then opened. Thus allowing the ice block to become dislodged and the rest of the above sequence to take place. The reasons for this particular action, in opening valve A may be described in four ways. The first possibility may be a simple case of curiosity. The valve was closed and froze, and so to check that the valve was still properly operational was then opened. The second possibility is that the correct procedure for such an event was not properly followed. That the correct procedure would have stated that in such an event, the valve should have been kept closed and the problem be properly reported to maintenance. Therefore the valve operator was responsible for the incident that took place. The third possibility is that no official procedure or training had been formulated for such an event. Therefore panic may have ensued resulting in the opening of the valve as a panic decision which can therefore be described as human error. The fourth possibility is that the official procedure was followed properly and that the procedure was critically floored. So the issue of a misunderstanding of such an event or even ignorance of such was present at the time of this crisis. The third possibility seems likely case based on the immediate actions of the individual as he made the decision not to use a phone close to the pressure tank and instead ran approximately 800 meters to the next nearest phone in the fear of causing a detonation of the released vapour cloud. The fourth possibility may also have some bearing in the crisis as prior to this event, the term BLEVE had still not been discovered or at least recorded prior to this. The rest of the sequence should be covered in the full breakdown of the crisis. An important issue to be considered is the overall control displayed by both the emergency and municipal authorities during the crisis. Even though the A7 expressway was closed following the leak, the authorities failed to close the local roads to all traffic, which resulted in a car being within 160 meters of the leaking pressure tank and causing the point of ignition. The failings in the emergency service appear to be more in association with a lack of sufficient training in the order of dealing with industrial crises as it was primarily there to deal with public situations. This resulted in a fatal misunderstanding of how to control such a situation as a leaking pressure tank and resulting fire, due to a lack of prior knowledge which is strengthened in the term BLEVE only being created some 4 to 5 years later Results of the enquiry and official recommendations The official investigation was not fully resolved until 1971 by the Grenoble court case. This may have been due to political reasons or due to the enquiry investigating why the crisis had occurred in the first place. On the principal that such events have happened since the Feyzin disaster, it cannot be assumed that the enquiry was successful in bringing about sufficient change in the safety of pressurised fluid containment. Personal recommendations not covered by the enquiry The first recommendations are for the design and construction of all current and future proposed plants dealing with pressurised fluid containment. The second recommendations are in association with work practices involved on chemical plants in general. Third valve (reserve): A third valve should be installed for the purpose of maintenance and crisis control. To be kept open at all times so as not to induce unnecessary wear and tear on the valve. When maintenance is required to be carried out on the two principal valves, the reserve can be shut to allow for maintenance to be carried out safely. In the event of a crisis similar to that of Feyzin, this valve can be shut as an emergency back up system in minimising fluid leakage from the pressure vessel. ‘Cold' pipe lagging: In order to prevent freezing of any pipes or valves dealing with potentially ‘cold' fluids, lagging should be fitted to all appropriate pipe work and fittings in order to minimise any potential freezing of these systems. Systems not dealing with ‘cold' fluids must be scrutinised independent of this point. Rubber sealed pressure box: High pressure boxes should be installed around all vital valves dealing with pressurised fluids. They should be big enough to allow for ease of working but not to big as to incur any additional hazard to plant running. They should be designed with an environmental rubberised seal so that if a valve begins to leak, the box can but locked shut with an emergency key. Thus minimising any excessive leakage until the situation can be bought under control. See: A third valve (reserve) Deluge system – Control box and master switch: If geographically located near to a natural water source as in the case of the Feyzin site, a deluge system should be installed. It must have pipe work leading to all critical locations around the entirety of the plant. This system must be regularly checked so as to remain in good working order. Each piece of equipment covered by this system must be fitted with a local switch, so in the event of either a leak or a fire, the operator can activate the system in order to prevent escalation of the situation. A central control post should be equipped with a control panel covering all local deluge systems via an override system and also be installed with a master switch that can activate all systems at once. This will allow for the main operator to activate systems in a sequence or all at once should a major sit6uation occur. Communication is vital for this system to work properly, so an emergency phone network should be installed in order to insure proper working of the system. This will only be part of the solution and fire brigades properly trained with dealing with such an event will ensure that the crisis is resolved effectively. Completion of site before going online: It is important that a site should be safe to operate before going online. In the case of Feyzin, the site was still under construction when the accident occurred. Even though construction work may not have been the cause of the incident, neither can the incompletion of the site be assumed to have helped in the scale of the incident itself. So before a plant can go online, all safety systems must be installed. This is not to be confused with site maintenance which is an ongoing process throughout the plants lifetime. Inclusion of full earthworks around site: Only effective if any vapour or fluid is heavier than atmospheric air. May also be affected by environmental conditions, however if all other systems are overwhelmed, then this system is designed to delay the spread of any possible leak. Earth works should be built around all containment vessels and if possible the entire site. So in case of an emergency, any leaking vapour may be contained within the confines of either the leaking vessel or the plant. Fig. 2 illustration of valves which were major cause of accident Preventions To prevent valves from freezing redundant sampling valves and drain valves are installed in series. In the tank involved in this accident, the double valve was already installed. In the LPG tank, the doubling of the valve is a minimum requirement as in the case of a single valve, there is a strong possibility that the valves main body will be cooled, damaging the closing function of the valve by freezing of the moisture in the air. The distance between the two valves must be sufficient to prevent the low temperature of the second valve affecting it. The size of the second valve must be approximately 10mm or less. It is recommended that a distance of 1m or more to be allowed between valve 1 and 2. Counter measures in other facilities around the world * Dike installation: – LPG spreads along the ground as it is heavier than the air. A dike is effective for prevention the spread of LPG. * As a precaution against the BLEVE phenomenon, the tank wall must be cooled by placing water showering facilities above the tank. * The Tank legs must be fire proofed. If the legs are made from iron they can be damaged by fire. * The distance between tanks is kept to prevent the spread of fires. The minimum distance is generally the diameter of the larger tank, however if possible greater distance between tanks is recommended. * Gas detectors are installed within the facility. Conclusions The Feyzin accident was a cause by human error and unsafe conditions. The accident could have been prevented if correct procedures were followed and if the plant was designed with appropriate fail safe systems such as a dike and LPG detectors. This accident lead to a greater understanding of the BLEVE phenomenon and has given future LPG companies the knowledge of its existence which has led to further research into this occurrence. Explosion of LPG tanks cause devastating damage. The companies that store and handle large volumes of LPG must consult with the local government to ensure they can communicate with the local government, inform local inhabitants and relay instructions for how to restrict traffic in case of an LPG leak. It has now become clear that the location for which the plant is located must be thoroughly studied, to ensure there is enough distance between the plant and built up areas. Without doubt future companies designing LPG refinery plants can benefit from the findings of this accident report. Glossary BLEVE – Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion LPG – Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Hotel Case

The Royal Hotel Case Study describes a situation where a junior consultant has architected a hotel maintenance management and issue tracking solution for a boutique hotel client. Blake, the consultant, identified a hotel maintenance management package which included a Rapid Response issue logging module, Preventative Maintenance module and the Reporting Module. Blake left the engagement prior to the completion of the change and has been called back because the system has been month balled a few weeks after go live. The hotel GM and Blake’s boss are extremely unhappy. The Cast of charactersBlake Cantera > An MBA student with two weeks consulting training. The architect of the solution on his first engagement Royal Hotel GM > A no nonsense, old school hotelier, running a boutique business hotel in New York. The GM wants to eliminate situations where guests discover maintenance issues. Director of Housekeeping > Not a champion for the system and does not take ownership for the ma intenance issues at the hotel Director of Maintenance > Roll has a natural conflict with housekeeping – did housekeeping report the issues and maintenance lose it, or did housekeeping just not report it?Director IT Espresso Vendor > Potentially oversold the solution as a panacea Jack Scarso > A colleague of Blake’s with similar experience, who is held in low esteem. Jack was assigned to implement the solution when Blake was transferred off. Jack received virtually no handover. Fancy Consultants Boss > The kind of boss who provides little support and mountains of expectation and appears to take little or no responsibility for the issues. Issues with the solution and approachThe implementation of the Espresso system would classify as a second order change which impacts Technology, Process and People and requires careful planning on how to overcome the End Users resistance to change which could dramatically impact the adoption of the system. The GM is an â€Å"Old School † hotelier however the proposed solution is a very â€Å"New School† solution; relying on digital logging, reporting and electronic task tracking rather than relationships and hierarchy for effectiveness, this suggests some ultural challenges that would appear not to have been addressed. The staff who are required to interact with the system will undergo process and cultural changes The way that housekeeping report issues changes – instead of waiting until the end of the shift they now report issues using the phone as they come across them. Maintenance teams are now being tracked using the sidekick and bar code system, to ensure stations are visited. Additionally reporting has been implemented to identify top performers and motivate staff.As such attention to managing the people dimension to ensure that the change is adopted is critical to the success of the initiative In-experienced change implementor acting without supervision or guidance. Change in key resourc es during the implementation with little effective transition or handover. Limited or no executive or general management oversight or support of the implementation from FC, the Royal Hotel or the Vendor. What should Blake do? Firstly, Blake needs to ensure that the Espresso System has the comitment of the full management team.After all, these are the people who let the system get mothballed so quickly. This means assembling the stakeholders and seeking their commitment to the success of this initiative – this is not just Blakes’ problem and Blake can’t fix it by himself – the system needs to be owned. Next Blake needs to understand what the current situation is which will involve clarifying the following Why did the employees stop using the system Why did the Directors of Maintenance and Housekeeping let their employees stop using the system? What needs of the employees did the old system better suit?How was the bar coding of maintenance points deployed? Did the management team receive the new reports and were their requirements catered for with the reporting tools? How were job changes managed and assigned – for example monitoring the Command Centre? Infrastructure – did the solution integrate with existing infrastructure – were the reports accessible? Were the sidekick units adopted? Through this process of analysis Blake can produce a post implementation review and and action plan for system design modifications, change management, training and re-release.