Article by Ali Mokhber CEng FIChemE , Christopher Ross MIChemE and Pablo Garcia-Trinanes AMIChemE
Ali Mokhber, Christopher Ross, and Pablo Garcia-Trinanes describe how layers of protection analysis might be applied to the coronavirus
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HEN the International Electrotechnical Commission conceptualised IEC 61511 at the turn of the century to protect people from industrial process accidents, they could hardly have imagined that in the years ahead the methodology might be adapted to protect people in a global virus pandemic.
From a chemical engineering point of view, transmission of the SARS-COV-2 virus is a process, and the disease Covid-19 can be managed like any other process hazard. There have already been attempts to do this, eg the bowtie and Swiss cheese models (