HIERARCHY OF CONTROLS
The following information pertains to diesel reduction methods which site may choose to undertake.
Fixed Continuous Real-time monitoring is relevant to many of these strategies and actions.
Leading practice has shown customers who undertake these actions and strategies choose those controls that the business feels will have the greatest impact based on the lowest costs and easiest implementation. (these tend to differ by operation and region- I.e. higher performance – lower sulphur diesel fuels are not easily available in South Africa etc).
Once a single specific control is chosen, it is recommended to monitor both before and after to establish the diesel emissions baseline for comparative analysis.
Generally, a target diesel emissions baseline/ background level should be considered against the set OEL.
Further, targets should be considered relative to the expenditure in terms of costs v time / effort. (i.e. low hanging fruit).
This evaluation is an essential task in this process – and allows the operation to make informed value-added decisions.
Should the benefits be regarded as minimal or underperforming, the business can pivot and undertake another strategy. I.e. ‘Plan-Do-Measure-Adjust’ forms part of the overall policy
It is also important not to overlap these activities as it makes the analysis difficult and actual individual consequential benefits harder to evaluate.
And finally, it is highly recommended that all control strategies are undertaken with the support of key management, OH&S specialists and the results are evaluated by the Diesel Management Committee as a function of leading practice.
Below is an example of the ‘hierarchy of controls’, the methods below are based on an example – however, there may by other methodologies and strategies available site can consider. A cost / benefit analysis is recommended.
Effective hierarchy of controls for DPM management
