ADCORS – February 2016 © EU Skills Group Page 1 of 3

Purpose This document is designed to support Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Plant Operators to provide a basic level of safety

awareness to ensure they operate safely on site. It should be used as a syllabus document to inform users of the

minimum training requirements or be used as a measure of an operative’s competency level and assess their

knowledge of safety practises. The document assumes the AD Plant has already been designed and installed.

Introduction The skills required for AD can be very diverse, ranging from general awareness, to health and safety and detailed

process and operations. They cover technical competencies as well as knowledge of plant and equipment,

environmental monitoring and gas management. There is an industry need to improve operational practice at AD

facilities. The risk of AD plant operational failure leading to health, safety and environmental incidents will be

reduced through enhanced operational practice. The establishment of a safety guidance document for AD plant

operation and maintenance is the first and critical stage to deliver this outcome.

This guide will ensure operators are thinking about the potential hazards and dangers in their surroundings and

what is in place to mitigate against the risks to prevent accidents. It will also ensure operators have thought about

what procedures are in place in the event of an incident.

This is a collaborative, industry led initiative.

AD Operational Safety Requirements

Safety and Health & Awareness

Manual Handling

Have you considered this hazard? What is in place to mitigate the risks?

Confined Space

Have you considered these hazards?

Toxic gases or vapours

Explosion or Fire

Flooding

Oxygen Deficiency

Dust

Heat

Mechanical Equipment

Falling Objects

Rescue & Recovery Access

What is in place to mitigate the risks?

Working at Heights

Have you considered the hazard? What is in place to mitigate the risks?

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)

What hazardous substances can be found in the work that you do? These substances can be used directly in

work, arise from the work you are doing or occur naturally.

Anaerobic Digestion Core Operational

Requirements (Safety) Draft Version: 3.0

ADCORS – February 2016 © EU Skills Group Page 2 of 3

Risks to individuals will depend on many factors, including:

How the substance is used (or misused)

How exposure to the substance is controlled

How much of the substance you are exposed to and for how long

What is in place to stop an accident happening?

Vehicle Movements

Have you considered these hazards? What is in place to mitigate the risks?

Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulation (DSEAR)

An AD environment can be a hazardous one as there is a risk of explosion when working with the gases it

produces such as Biogas and methane.

Have you considered these gas hazards?

What is in place to mitigate these risks?

Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER)

Have you considered the hazards around lifting and the associated equipment?

What is in place to mitigate these risks?

a lift must always be planned

Someone must be in charge of the lift

Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER)

Have you considered the hazards from all work equipment?

What is in place to mitigate these risks?

Ensure work equipment is used in the manner for which it is intended

Maintenance, repairs and servicing arrangements

Training on how to use

What type of work equipment is used in an AD Plant? Processing equipment, heavy plant (tele handlers, forklift

trucks), pressure washers, ladders, gas monitors, hand tools.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Have you identified what PPE is required and made sure it is adequate? It is personal equipment and not for

sharing.

Construction, Design and Management Regulations (CDM)

Many repairs and maintenance tasks come under these regulations. Have you made appropriate arrangements?

Control of Contractors, Permits to Work, Lock-off & Isolation procedures

Have you considered the hazards and have you got systems in place for these situations – whether you use an

external contractor or your own team? You must mitigate the risks.

Environmental Protection

Prevention and mitigation of harmful releases to air, water or land.

What do you have in place to mitigate any potential harmful release?

ADCORS – February 2016 © EU Skills Group Page 3 of 3

Emergency Responses

Emergency Procedures – Shut down and start-up - Who is in charge of organising minimising harm during a

catastrophic event?

Risk Assessment

Make sure you have everything in place (Risk Assessment) - As part of managing the health and safety of your

plant, you must control risks in your workplace surroundings. To do this you need to think about what might

cause harm to people and decide whether you are doing enough to prevent harm. This process is known as a

risk assessment. Do you have records that prove you have carried it out?

Process Control

What are the hazards? What is in place to mitigate the risks?

Process control of valves, pumps, systems - prompts to ensure safety procedures are followed.

Do you know what would happen if valves open and close incorrectly.

Systems Monitoring

Is a system in place for monitoring the safeguards you have put in place are working?

Digestate Management (Feedstocks vs Biology)

What are the hazards associated with dealing with digestate produced in an AD Plant? What is in place to

mitigate the risks?

Understanding the impact of mixing feedstock’s

Feedstock and digestate spills can occur when transferring both materials and should be contained immediately.

Emergency Spillage – who should you report it to? Have you thought through what would happen?

Staff Welfare

How and where staff will take a break and manage downtime

Lone working, emergency planning - what type of emergencies could happen?

References

Manual Handling – http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg143.pdf

Confined Space – http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg258.pdf

Working at Heights – http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg401.pdf

COSHH – http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg136.pdf

Vehicle Movements – http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg199.pdf

DSEAR – http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg370.pdf

LOLER – http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg290.pdf

PUWER – http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg291.pdf

PPE – http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg174.pdf

Risk Assessment - http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg163.pdf