Services - CNG Safety Consulting
CFS can provide safety assessment, investigations, management plans, audits and training in the following areas:
- Safety assessment of CNG vehicles and CNG facilities for protection against gas release, fire and explosion.
- Safe CNG cylinder selection to ensure that the cylinder has been produced correctly and delivered in the required good condition.
- Investigation of CNG vehicle and refuelling station safety incidents (equipment failure and breakage, injuries, property damage, gas leakage, fire and explosion) and remedial measures.
- Safety of CNG vehicles against arson and terrorism attacks.
- Safety Management Plans (SMP) for CNG refuelling stations, CNG vehicle workshops and CNG vehicle fleets.
- Safety audits of CNG vehicle fleet operation, workshops, parking areas, parking buildings and refuelling stations.
- Safety of indoor refuelling, operation in road tunnels and underground CNG bus passenger terminals.
- Safety audit program formulation and auditor training.
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Safety assessment of CNG vehicles and CNG facilities for protection against gas release, fire and explosion.
CNG vehicles and their associated facilities may be approved in accordance with existing standards or regulations. However, the approval requirements may still not provide adequate safety in many operating scenarios, as has been demonstrated by a number of safety incidents. For example, an issue which is still not totally solved by CNG vehicle standards is the selection and configuration of safety components to prevent excessive fire damage and cylinder failure in the event of a vehicle fire. The issues of the fire safety of CNG vehicles are summarised in a CFS report (3MB pdf).
Using knowledge gained from decades of world CNG safety incidents, CFS can assess a CNG vehicle design to improve protection against gas release, fire and explosion through the use of safe components, safe installation design, construction and operation.
Adequate safety will prevent human injuries and asset losses, enabling the business to continue without costly interruptions. Examples of CNG vehicle installation and operations are the correct installation of on-board CNG systems to prevent cylinder failures in a fire; and the early, safe fighting of a vehicle fire to prevent it from causing a greater risk by spreading to the CNG cylinder system. An investigation of one such incident can be found in this magazine article (in German).
Considering the Korean and Singapore bus incidents shown on the left, it has been found from experience with a wide range of similar incidents worldwide that such failure may be caused by one or a combination of cylinder material, cylinder installation design, vehicle operation, maintenance and inspection program and procedures. From work with Australian CNG bus fleets where significant safety incidents have also occurred, CFS International has produced and delivered CNG training courses that teach fleet operators to assess their vehicle and fleet safety, and produce/implement operational and maintenance programs to maintain safety.
CFS can provide assessment of the safety of:
- CNG vehicle installation,
- CNG refuelling stations,
- CNG trailers used in mother-daughter refuelling systems,
- CNG vehicle workshops and parking facilities,
against risks of gas release, fire and explosion, and recommend remedial measures where needed.
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Safe CNG cylinder selection to ensure that the cylinder has been produced correctly and delivered in the required good condition.
The cylinder importer or distributor has to ensure that the cylinder design has been approved or registered in the country of use (see the necessary measures in "Design verification of CNG cylinders" and "Verification of CNG cylinder production testing and quality assurance").
To avoid safety issues, thus liability problems and financial penalty, the importer/distributor/retailer/installer must ensure that the cylinder as received must be in the same (undamaged) condition as the cylinder which was verified to be in compliance, for which the design approval/registration has been granted.
An example of a product acceptance issue is the circumferential composite cracks in Type 2 cylinders, which are common with this type of cylinders, and which may cause safety problems in service. Should the importer or end user accept such a cylinder? What action needs to be taken to address potential in-service safety problems? CFS can provide advice to both the importer/user and the manufacturer to overcome this potentially serious defect.
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Investigation of CNG safety incidents
CFS can undertake investigation into a range of CNG safety incidents involving major gas release, fire and explosion occurring on CNG vehicles and CNG facilities.
CFS's work is based on experience in Australian investigations of the fire and destruction of CNG vehicles, as well as the knowledge gained from the international NGV industry's databases of CNG safety incidents over the last 25 years. This familiarity with NGV safety issues is essential to rapid and successful investigation, which in turns minimises the cost of investigation and the risk of similar incidents occurring.
CNG safety incident investigations have not been successful when suitable investigators were not involved. There are no "freak" CNG incidents, and they need not occur if the correct expertise and experience are deployed. The essential approach to successfully investigating CNG system safety incident is summarised in "Learning and benefiting from NGV safety incidents", NGV Global, 24 July 2008.
CFS can also provide follow-up recommendations on installation and operating procedures to prevent the recurrence of the safety issue.
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Safety of CNG vehicles against arson and terrorism attacks
CNG vehicles can be made safe in normal circumstances by using the correct design, gas equipment selection and installation, and in-service inspection, which prevents in-service deterioration and failure of the installed CNG cylinders in operation or in a fire. The same methods can be used to ensure the safety of CNG vehicles in arson and terrorism attacks.
The methods should centre on
- the prevention of CNG component damage - including the cylinders - due to deliberate actions of the attackers which may not be easily detected or identified by vehicle operators without effective regular inspection procedures; and
- preventing the on-board CNG gas system from failing catastrophically in a fire attack or collision attack on the vehicle
CNG city bus fleets are potentially the most critical targets of such attacks due to their heavy impacts in city operating environments, where the number of affected passengers, bystanders and vehicles can be very high. City bus fleets owners and operators would benefit from a review or design of their vehicles and operations to minimise the chance of such attacks succeeding.
CFS can audit the design, installation, operation, staff training and inspection procedures to ensure that when such attacks occur, the on-board CNG system would not fail in a catastrophic way; thus negating or blunting the impact of the arson or terrorism attack.
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Safety Management Plans (SMP)
CFS's Safety Management Plans (SMP) include the necessary organisational and generic as well as CNG-specific procedural aspects to ensure CNG vehicles and facilities are operated safely.
A CNG vehicle fleet may include CNG vehicles, CNG refuelling station(s) and CNG vehicle servicing/maintenance workshops and parking facilities. The fleet's complete SMP should cover the vehicles and associated facilities, not just the refuelling facility in isolation, as has been the case with many CNG vehicle fleets to date.
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Safety audits
An operating CNG vehicle fleet and associated facilities should be given periodic safety audits to confirm that the installations and operating procedures remain code compliant and safe.
Although CNG refuelling station audits can be based on some existing CNG refuelling station standards, other CNG facilities have not been the subject of safety audits due to a general lack of standards - for example, for CNG vehicle workshops and parking facilities.
This service can be provided by CFS utilising the requirements of the Australian standard for CNG vehicle workshops, as well as CFS's additional CNG safety knowledge.
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Safety of indoor refuelling, operation in road tunnels and underground CNG bus passenger terminals.
Indoor and underground public transport passenger terminals generally have stringent requirements for safety system and equipment and emergency response programs and procedures. When CNG buses are introduced to these public facilities, the special safety needs of CNG will need to be incorporated into the facility, both in terms of the physical provisions and operating procedures.
CFS has undertaken an audit of one such major facility in Australia and provided recommendations on facility fire protection and operating and emergency procedures for both site staff and the external emergency services.
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Safety audit program formulation and auditor training
For each fleet or facility CFS will tailor the audit program to ensure that it is optimal and specific.
If required, CFS's first audit can be designed to simultaneously give hands-on training to the client's own in-house safety auditors, who can then conduct subsequent audits.