Chapter 5

5. Risk Prevention

Everyone has a role to play in promoting safe working conditions and minimising the risk of accident and the possible consequences. Good communication and cooperation between designers, operators and users is also an important safety factor.

5.1 The Main Risk Factors

Accidents are rarely attributable to a single cause. In the majority of cases, several risk factors combine to cause an accident. According to the statistics of national safety bodies, the main risk factors in a working environment are:

Subject	Risk factor
The individual	Physical condition (stress, illness, etc.), Carelessness, lack of awareness Inexperience or lack of training Lack of information State of mind (emotional reactions, personal problems, etc.)
The work	Work not properly prepared Lack of coordination Unprofessional approach
The equipment	Safety considerations ignored at the design stage Deterioration, misuse
The environment	Physical surroundings (noise, bad lighting, heat, etc.) Social surroundings (relations with fellow workers, supervisors, etc.)

The human factor must always be taken into account for two reasons:
- man is the main cause of risk,
- and in the end the main victim.

5.2 Safety Training

Group leaders must take the necessary steps to ensure that all members of the personnel in their group are given the required safety information. Safety training courses are intended for all persons working on the CERN site, including students, apprentices, contractors’ personnel and registered visitors.

The purpose of the various training courses is to make people aware of risk prevention and risk management issues and therefore to draw their attention to the Organization’s safety regulations and provide them with information on accident prevention, first aid and fire-fighting.

In particular, safety briefings for newcomers are held every Tuesday; they are compulsory for all persons working on the CERN site. On request, these courses may be given in languages other than French and English.

Experts from Safety Commission are available to help with general training or any other safety-related issues.

Special safety courses are regularly organised in the following fields: first aid, use of hoisting equipment, electrical safety, industrial safety, use of flammable gases and chemicals, work in confined spaces, etc.

5.3 Notice of Start of Work (AOC)

Work to be done by contractors on the CERN site must be announced by means of a "Notice of Start of Work" (AOC: Avis d’ouverture de chantier) issued by the work supervisor (member of the CERN personnel supervising the work or outside supervisor mandated by the Organization).
The AOC forms an important part of the risk prevention plan.

The AOC is sent to all CERN services and all persons concerned, both to obtain their comments and to inform them of and draw their attention to the risks and any constraints associated with the worksite (see Safety Instruction IS 39).

If in doubt about the need for an AOC, supervisors must consult EN-GMS-SIS.

5.4 Safety Inspections

Either directly (see List of Safety Inspectors) or by bringing in outside experts, EN department carries out various inspections of infrastructure, including, where appropriate, checks on working methods, work stations and the working environment. The purpose of safety inspections is to assess the risks from the point of view of all the safety aspects mentioned above.
Safety Instruction IS 4 defines two types of safety inspection, namely:

Acceptance inspections
These inspections, which concern new or modified facilities (buildings, installations, equipment), are carried out at the request of the person in charge of the facility’s safety (by default, the project manager);

The term facilities covers: a building, installation or piece of equipment.
The installations include the electrical power or cryogenic fluid production and distribution systems and the chemical or gas distribution plants.
The term equipment includes lifts and service elevators, safety valves, pressure vessels, fire extinguishers, automatic doors, hoisting gear, etc.
Periodic inspections
These concern existing facilities:
- Buildings
  must be inspected at least once a year.
  Together with the DSO, the Safety Inspector concerned schedules the periodic inspections of buildings, which are organised by the DSOs in collaboration with the TSO(s) and Safety Linkmen, if necessary.
  These inspections provide the opportunity to assess the general safety conditions in major installations, halls and buildings. They are not intended as detailed controls but as a check that the necessary inspections have been made and that previous safety recommendations have been implemented.
- Installations and equipment
  are inspected according to a frequency determined at the time of acceptance.
  The Safety Inspector concerned schedules the periodic inspections of installations and equipment, which are organised in agreement with the persons in charge of the facilities’ safety.
  These inspections provide the opportunity to check that the installations and equipment comply with the regulations and with the set methods and working conditions.

Following each inspection, the Safety Inspector draws up a report, which is forwarded to the following persons:

Subject Report sent to

Buildings

Department Leader, with copies to:

DSO

TSO

the Safety Commission Leader.

Installations

Person in charge of the installation, with copies to:

DSO

TSO

Equipement

Person in charge of the equipment, with copy to:

TSO

All measures cited in an inspection report are compulsory unless they are indicated as recommendations. The person to whom the report is sent must notify the author when the work referred to has been duly completed or give the reasons why it has not been done.

5.5 Safety systems

Smoke detectors Tunnels, the majority of buildings housing technical services and buildings open to the public are fitted with smoke detectors connected to the Fire Brigade’s alarm centre.

In some areas, a "level 3" alarm will automatically activate the fire-extinguishing systems (see Annex I).

Gas detectors and oxygen detectors The Flammable Gas Safety Manual (Code G) defines the circumstances and the locations in which gas leak detectors must be installed. These detectors may generate "level 3" alarms, which are transmitted to the Fire Brigade. A list of the detectors in operation under your department’s responsibility is given in Annex I. Emergency stops General emergency stops, which are connected to the Fire Brigade’s alarm centre, must be installed in the following locations:

accelerator tunnels and buildings,
experiment halls and areas,
assembly halls,
large experiment facilities,
large workshops,
large storage halls and buildings,
and, in general, any building, hall or area in which there are a large number of activities involving the use of dangerous equipment.

Laboratories, workshops, halls and special equipment may be fitted with local emergency stops, whose activation is not generally transmitted to the Fire Brigade (see Safety Instructions No. 5 and No. 37).

Evacuation alarms Some underground areas and buildings are fitted with sound systems (modulated sirens) which trigger an evacuation alarm in the event of an emergency (fire, flood).

Boxes for triggering the evacuation alarm are installed near some emergency stops, together with red telephones.

Anyone encountering a toxic gas leak or fire which cannot be extinguished with the equipment available locally (e.g. fire extinguishers) and which may place lives in danger must activate the evacuation alarm.

If an alarm goes off, stop work immediately and leave the area.

First-aid equipment This term covers:

Medicine chests which, in everyone’s interests, must always be well stocked. The Medical Service will replenish them on request;
Fire extinguishers, which may be used by the personnel to fight fires while awaiting the arrival of the Fire Brigade;
Fire hose stations (RIA - robinets d’incendie armés), which are mainly intended for use by the Fire Brigade but may also be used by the personnel while awaiting the latter’s arrival if the fire extinguishers are not sufficient to extinguish the fire. Any electrical hazards must be eliminated before using these hose stations;
The "electrical safety kit", comprising a stool, pole and insulating gloves, which is located in areas presenting significant electrical hazards, such as electrical sub-stations and high-voltage installations (lasers, electron guns, etc.).

5.6 "Level 3" alarms

Definition of "level 3" alarms
Level 3 alarms are those which are triggered in the event of an accident or abnormal situation which places or is likely to place lives in danger. Their activation therefore results in the immediate intervention of the Fire Brigade. The following alarms fall into the "level 3" category:
- smoke detection (generally to be confirmed by two independent detectors);
- gas leak detection;
- detection of flooding;
- general emergency stop;
- red telephone;
- emergency evacuation alarm;
- lift shut-down;
- lack of oxygen detection;
- fail-safe devices indicating malfunction.
Notes on level 3 alarms
To ensure the efficiency of the rescue operation and whenever the circumstances allow, it is recommended that the triggering of a level 3 alarm be confirmed by a call to the Fire Brigade on 74444, giving all the necessary information (exact location of the incident, number of injured persons if applicable, seriousness of the incident, etc.).
Deactivation
Level 3 alarms must be deactivated in accordance with the procedure explained in IS 37.
In the case of prolonged deactivation (>=4h), the corresponding EDH form must first be completed and approved.

5.7 Evacuation exercises

In the framework of training the personnel in fire fighting and to check the alarm installations, evacuation exercises must be performed regularly (see Code E) on the initiative of the department head and in collaboration with DGS-SEE in all buildings fitted with an evacuation alarm system.

5.8 Purchase of special equipment and material

The purchase of certain products or equipment is subject to authorisation by the occupational Health & Safety and Environmental protection (HSE) Unit. For each of the products listed below, an internal purchase request (DAI) must be approved by a technical expert from HSE Unit, who will also take the necessary steps to check that the specification complies with the regulations. For FP’s Purchasing Service, it is important that the activity code is clearly shown on the DAI.

Class of equipment	To be approved by:
Fire prevention equipment	DGS-SEE-SE
Chemicals, gases, sprays, paints, glues, resins; lasers	DGS-SEE-SE
Cables, wires, strands Hoisting and heavy handling equipment; pressure vessels	DGS-SEE-SE
Radioactive sources and X-ray equipment;	DGS-RP
Electrical equipment	DGS-SEE-SE

Created 21.05.1997 - modified 12.07.2010 - Author: DSOC -

Subject	Report sent to
Buildings	Department Leader, with copies to: DSO TSO the Safety Commission Leader.
Installations	Person in charge of the installation, with copies to: DSO TSO
Equipement	Person in charge of the equipment, with copy to: TSO