Assessment of Coal Handling Facility using the Swiss Cheese Model: A Case Study of Fire Incident in Coal-Fired Power Plant

Fire accidents in a coal-fired power plant (CFPP) can be defined as any event of undesired fire that causes a catastrophic event, particularly in a coal handling facility (CHF). In a specific case, low-rank coal dust particles are sufficient to create an explosion hazard if these particles accumulate in large quantities. This paper aims to describe an integrated effort to define and measure organizational factors related to power plant safety, particularly CHF, using the Swiss Cheese Model (SCM) as an assessment method. The model was used to investigate the accident and prevent accidents as a lesson learned. The evaluation began by reviewing existing conditions. The process consists of assessing loss prevention and loss reduction. Each barrier was evaluated by compliance-defined criteria to mitigate hazard loss events. The assessment result shows that the condition of the equipment was unhealthy, with an ineffective program and unclear standard procedures. By SCM, the existing conditions show a high probability of hazard, which cause potential loss events. Finally, several recommendations were conveyed for each barrier parameter to mitigate and prevent fire accidents in CFPP. Compliance with defined criteria is expected to decrease the occurrence of hazards in the future.

Keywords: Fire incident, Fire investigation, Coal handling facility, Swiss cheese model.

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