Research & development projects
Cost Curves for SOx Abatement

2004 - DEFRA

The project involved developing cost curves to show abatement efficiency vs. cost for techniques available for industry to reduce releases of Sulphur-oxide compounds. Andy's role was to collect the data for the refining, steel and quarrying sectors, that fed into the wider project. This included identifying options for abatement and gathering cost and efficiency data. Andy reviewed BREF and BAT notes and talked to industry experts.
 
Development of a methodology for the assessment of supervision in the chemical and allied industries

2004 - Health and safety executive

The Health and Safety Executive had recognised that many organisations had changed their team structures (e.g. downsizing, multi-skilling, self-managed teams), and this had affected the way supervision was being delivered. This project examined how these changes could affect health and safety, and developed a method that organisations can use to assess their supervisory arrangements and make improvements. Andy managed the project, and had a major role carrying out site visits, developing the methodology and writing the research report. He was assisted by a small team of consultants assisted performed literature searches and carried out some of the site visits. The practicality and value of the methodology was demonstrated in a series of site trials with eight process companies in the UK. The report was published as Research Report RR292.
 
Evaluation of the Safe and Healthy Working service (Scotland)

2004 - NHS Health Scotland

Safe and Healthy Working is a service aimed at small and medium sized enterprises to improve occupational health performance as a contribution to the overall health of the Scottish population. This project was a cohort study of awareness and understanding of occupational health, before and one year after the introduction of the service. The study involved telephone and postal surveys, site visits and focus groups. Andy's role was project manager and quality review of the output. Although not actively involved in the research, he made a significant contribution to the completion of the report and overall coordination
 
Development of user guide for the Staffing Assessment Methodology (CRR 348/2001)

2004 - Energy Institute

The Energy Institute (formerly the Institute of Petroleum) had identified that the staffing assessment methodology (CRR 348/2001) developed by Entec for the Health and Safety Executive was a very valuable tool, but that some companies were not using it because they perceived it to be too difficult to learn and use. Also, the Institute had received feedback from its members saying that they did not feel the methodology was suitable for automated plant. Working closely with the Institute's human factors working party, Andy developed a 'User Guide' that explained the practical aspects of conducting an assessment using the methodology. As well as explanations about the underlying principles and terminology used, the guide provided practical advice and forms that could be used to collect information during assessment workshops. Also, it explained how companies should use the methodology in managing organisational change, including the assessment of risks associated with existing staffing arrangements and the impact of proposed changes. An extension to the methodology was developed to provide users with a method of assessing the impact to the operator of implementing technological change. The report and associated material is freely available from the Energy Institute's website.