Mechanical Failure Case study 2022

Running head: CASE STUDY ON MECHANICAL FAILURE 1
Case Study on Mechanical Failure
Name of Author
Institution of Affiliation
Date of Submission

CASE STUDY ON MECHANICAL FAILURE 2
Case Study on Mechanical Failure
Abstract
 This paper analyses the nature of mechanical failure and the actual causes of a fatal
accident that happened in Bhopal. Besides, the case looks at what strategies are needed to
recover from mechanical failure risk.
 Methodology/ approach/design/: The paper uses a case study from Bhopal mechanical
failure incident. The incident was exposed to content investigation to distinguish the
causal elements.
 Findings/Results: The incident was analyzed, and the immediate circumstances could be
established. The main causal factors for the incidence that were identified include four
key factors namely; position failure, system failure, hazard assessment failure, and
maintenance failure.
 Conclusion: Lack of poor management systems, poor input of safety measures and
designs, ignorance of processes in the plant, and poor staff safety regulation were
identified as the immediate causal effect of the incident. In conclusion; there is a need for
improvement in risk management, which involves the creation and protection of value in
the company.
Introduction
Gas processing plants involve petrol and chemical industries. The inherent complexity of
hazards from petrol and chemical industries has been studied and continuously kept improved to
meet the needs of the national and local governments (Shahin, 2016). The gas processing
factories has shown numerous catastrophic incidents in history in various part of the world. A
good example is an explosion that occurred in June 2000 at the Kuwait National petroleum

CASE STUDY ON MECHANICAL FAILURE 3
company refinery. The explosion was a result of a gas leak of the liquefied natural gas pipeline.
The occurrence of the incident causes a lot of destruction of facilities, and about 60 workers were
injured. The incident causes financial losses, which are estimated to be around 900 million
dollars (Shahin, 2016). Another incident occurred in Foxborough in 1974, which led to 30 people
were killed; 90 were injured, including workers and outsiders. Besides, about 2000 houses and
200 shops were affected, which resulted in a total cost of destruction of about 100milion dollars.
The most significant catastrophic occurred in Bhopal as a result of mechanical failure.
The incidence killed 4000 people, including the ones who were surrounding the plant. According
to (Mittal, 2016), the explosion at Bhopal union Carbide factory remains one of the world’s most
fatal industrial accidents. A large proportion of the deaths were as a result of acute respiratory
damage that was caused by the inhalation of toxic fumes from the explosion. The pesticide plant
was surrounded by shantytowns with more than 700,000 people who were exposed to the deadly
toxic fumes. According to (Ajith et al., 2017), the resulting incidence was largely contributed to
poor hazard management, poor use of early warning systems, poor safety management practice,
and poor perception of the risk involved.
The main aim of this paper is to propose an instigative approach towards the
determination of the primary root causes of accidents or unusual events in industrial plants,
especially those that deal with gas and chemicals (Mittal, 2016). The paper also discusses the
actual issue that exists based on the findings from the case study. The effort is aimed by linking
the proposed methodologies for an improvement plan, which may diminish the fatal accidents
which may occur in future. The risk assessment practice will be more pragmatic once historical
information is used by institutions as the source of reference.