. AFE Y ' . G Il EERI[\;G STUDY FOR A TYPICAL PAL"'I OIL M ILL

SITI ZAI mAIl I/.J. SAHARI

Univcl'siti Malaysia Sa rawak T 55 n(/I/2 002 S622 2002

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Kota Sam ara han

Ik

BORANG PENYERAHAN TESIS

Judul: SAFETY ENG INEERING STUD Y FOR A TYPJ(:;AL PALM OIL i\[[LL

Saya SIT[ ZAHRAH HJ, SAHARJ (HURUF BESAR)

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· AFETY ENGINEERI NG STUDY FOR A TYPICAL PALM OIL i\IILL

By

SITI ZAHRAH HJ. SAHAIU

MATIUC NO. 3043

A project paper presented to the

Faculty of Engineering

Tn partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree in Bachelor of Engineering

with Honours (Mechanical E ngineering and Manufactu ring Sys tem)

UNIVERSITl MALAYSIA SARAWAK

200112002

APPROVAL SHEET

Thi s projec t paper attached hereto, entitled" Safet.y Engineering Study For a

Typical Pa lm Oil Mill" prepared and submitted by Siti Zahrah Hj . Sahari (3043)

in partial fulti llment of the requirements for the Degree in Bachelor of Engineering

with Honours (Mechani ca l Engineering and Manufacturing Sys tem)

is hereby accepted

29'h September, 2001 Cik Rubiyah Haji Bai ni

Faculty of Engineering

Uni versiti Malays ia Sara wak

ABSTRACT

SAFETY ENGIN EERI NG STUDY FOR A TYPICAL PALM OIL I\ II LL

by

Siti Zahrah Hj. Sahari (3043)

The objective of this report is to develop a sys tem approach (termed Safety

EngineerIng Study) to industria l acc ident prevention for a typ ica l pa lm oi l mill.

Adoption method for the research was by carry ing out stud y on the management of

the two (2) selected palm oil mills in Sara wak, i.e. to probe the appli cabil ity, strengths

and weaknesses of its organ ization safety policies and practi ces. Other tasks carried

out included study on the process of palm oil mill and analy?'ing its risk, inspection on

tbe operation, rev iewing of work programmes, observing personne l working attitudes

as well as inq uiring on safety practices and training provided. This report managed to

provide information on the operation of a typical palm oil mi ll , identifying thc major

causa l factors of accident, drawing up the safety precautions as well as def1l1ing and

developi ng preventive measures. Finally, a Palm Oil Mil l Safety Analysis is

developed to represent the overa ll result of study.

IV

ABSTRAK

SAFETY ENGINEERING STUDY FOR A T YPICAL PALM OIL MILL

Oleh

Siti Zahrah Hj. Sahari (3043)

Kertas kelja ini bertujuan untu k menghasi lkan satu pendekatan ke arah menangani masalah

keselamatan di kil ang pemprosesan minyak sawiL Kaedah yang digunakan untu k

menjayakan kertas kerj a ini ialah dengan menj alankan kajian ke atas pengurusan dll a (2)

buah kilang sawit di Sarawak, untllk mengkaji tahap keberkesanan sesebuah kilang itu

terhadap aspek kese lamatan yang di praktikkan. Antara program kerja lain ia lah menganali sa

ri siko pemprosesan dan mcmbu at pemerhatian terhadap sikap kelj a yang diamalkan. Kertas

kerja ini juga mendedahkan pembaca terhadap kaedah pemprosesan minyak sawit ,

mengenalpasti fakto r- fa ktor lItama yang menyebabkan kelllalangan, menghasi lkan se rt a

merangkaikan langkah-langkah pencegahan yang patut . Akhir sekali, kertas ke,j a ini dapat

menghasilkan satu analisa kescialllatan untuk Illewakili kese luruhan aspek keselalllatan

sesebuah kilang kelapa sawit.

y

ACKJ'IOWLEDGEMENTS

1. To my lecturer, Cik Rubiyah Hj. Baini, for her supporting ideas,

encouragement and long hours spent, reviewing this project paper.

2. To the Management of Sarawak Plantations Berhad for the opportunity given

to calTY out the research and their staff for the assistance rendered.

3. To my dear friend, KMKA, for always being there.

4. And last but by no means least, my parents, Haji Sahari Bin Mahmud and

Hajjah Rabiah Hj. Salleh, my brothers and sisters for their loving support and

my beautiful children, Izzat and Zharif for adding special meaning to my life.

To all, thank you.

VI

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LI ST OF TA BLES IX

LIST OF FIGURES X

CHAPTER J: INTRODUCTION 1-12

1.1 Palm Oil Industry

1.2 Palm Oi l Processing 2

1.3 Objec ti ve o f this Repo rt 7

14 Rati onal/J usti ficat ion o f thi s Repo n 8

l.5 Definition o f Terms Used in thi s Rep0l1 II

1. 6 Limitatio ns o f thi s Report 12

CHAPTER 2: SAFETY STANDARDS AND PRACTICES

2. 1 Industrial Safety Prac ti ces 13

2.2 Principal Hea lth & Safe ty Ac t 15-24

2.2.1 The Fac tories and Machinery Act, 1967 15

2.2 .2 Occupa ti o na l Sa fe ty and Health Ac t, 1994 2 1

2.2 .3 The Noise at Wo rk Regulatio ns 1989 24

2.2 4 The Safety Signs Regulatio ns 1980 24

2.3 Types of Palm O il M ill Haza rds 25-29

2.3.1 General Elec tri ca l Hazard 26

2.3.2 Static Electric ity 27

2.3.3 Hardware Hazards 28

24 Human Factors 29

CHAPTER3:METHODOLOGY 3 \-35

3.1 Introduc ti on o f Approach- Compliance Audit 3 I

3.2 Data Co ll ecti o n 34

3.3 Data Analysis 35

CHAPTER 4: ANAL YSJS OF RESEARCH STUDY 36-58

4.1 Outcomes from the Audit Checklist 36-41

VII

4.1.1 Premises and Housekeepi ng

4. I.2 Mechanical , Electri ca l and Personal Safeguarding

4 .IJ Environmental Control

4.1.4 Accident Recordi ng

4.15 Health and Safety Organisation

4.2 Risk Analysis of the Mill Process Stations

4 .2. 1 Frcsh Fru it Bunches (FFB) Reception

4.2.2 Sterili ser Stati on

4.2 3 Threshi ng Stati on

4.2.4 Press Station

42 .5 Deperi ca rper Stat ion

4.2 .6 Kernel Recovery Plant

4.2.7 Clarification Stati on

4 .2.8 Boiler Station

429 Power House

4.2.1 0 Workshop

4.3 Case Study

4.3. 1 MPOM 5/5/97

4 .3.2 MPOM 16/1 /98

4 .3.3 POM 13/11 /99

4.3.4 POM 22/11198

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Palm Oil Mill Safety Analys is

5.2 Causa l Factors of Hazards

5.3 Hazard Trigger Checkli sts

CHAPTER 6:CONCLUSIO

BIBLIOGRAP HY

APPENDICES

Vl ll

36

37

3:

38

40

41- 53

41

43

45

46

47

48

49

50

52

53

54-58

54

55

56

57

59-68

59

60

67

69-72

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1 Latest Number of Palm Oil Mills in Malaysia 2

(April 200 I)

Tab le 1.2 Sta ti stics on Total Number of Industrial Accident 8

in Malaysia (1996 to June 2000)

Table 1.3 Statistic on Total Nu mber of Indu strial Accident 9

Accord ing to Industrial Sector (1999)

Table 3.1 Brief Details on MPOM and NPOM 32

(December 2000)

Table 3.2 Risk Analysis of the Mills 34

Table 4.1 Accident Statistic ofNiah Palm Oil Mi ll and 39

Mukah Palm Oil Mill (1993 to 1st half of 1999)

Table 5.1 Exposure Time 66

(Swedis h Standa rds (SEN 590111) at 1000 Hz)

IX

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 Schematic Flow Diagram of a Palm Oil Mill Process 6

Fi gure 6, 1 Pal m Oi l Mill Safety Ana lysis 70

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Palm Oil Industry

The palm oil industry in Malaysia has deve loped into a multi-billion industry

as wha t is witnessed today. Its plantation begin to shape the country agriculture

land scape in the 1960s as government moves towards diversifica tion of agriculture

commodities to broaden the economic base and due to the declining price of rubber.

Now, Ma lays ia is recognized as the leading nation in oil palm plantation, being the

world largest producer and exporter of palm oil ' It enj oys thi s competiti ve edge due

to the contin uous research and development programmes to chart new fi ndings, which

wou ld , enhances its va lue.

Changes both evolutionary (incremental) and revoluti onary (a sign ificant step)

are continuous ly looked for and implement to keep Malays ia at the forefront of the

world's palm oil indus try as well as to maintain the viabi lity of its palm oil mijjing

industry. With the growing number of palm oi l mill s in Malaysia (as per Table 1.1),

mill ing technology does change, even though the overall palm oil extrac tion process

has not change.

I As per repon ed by Ma laysia Palm Oil Board (M POB), Pal mod Update Allgllst2000

Chaoter I I nlroduction

1.2 Palm Oil Processing

Fresh Fruit BUllch (FFB ) transported from the estates wi ll be un loaded from

lorries onto the ramp at the reception station. The reception station consists of an

inclined steel ramp (at 20° to 2]0) with concrete yard. From the loading ramp, the

FFB will be then be unloaded into fruit cages through the discharge door mechanized

hydraulica lly, pulled by wire-rope capstan along the rail track and charged into the

sterili zer. This is where the first treatment of the bUllches is subjected to.

Table 1.1: Lates t number of Pa lm Oi l Mills in Malaysia

Nu mb er of Patm Oil Mills in Malaysia

State No. S ta te No.

Kedah 3 l ohore 7'2

Penang 3 Pahang 68

Perak 43 Terengganu 12

Selangor 26 Kelantan 9

Negeri Sern b il a ll 14 Sa bah 86

Ma lacca 2 Sara\vak 17

T ota l No. O f Palm Oi l Mills J55

Source Poria Statistics (April 200 1)

The functions of the steri li zer station are to inactiva te enzymes which

hydrolyze the oil and loosen fruitlets from the bunch as well as softening the fruit

pulp for easier digestion of the fruit. The sterili zers are normally of the horizontal

single-sided door , with built- in distribution plate (so steam can be evenly distributed)

and a pair on internal rai l to ho ld the wheels of the cages. They can accommodate

about eight cages of 2.5 MT capacities. The FFB will be "cooked" under saturated

2

Chaoter 1 IntroduCliol1

steam and the sterili s ing technique usually adopted is the three (3 ) peaks sterilizati on

at 3S to 40 psi for 80 to 90 minutes.

After s terili zati on, the fruit cage is then lifted by the overhead hoist c rane and

emptied into the thresher hopper. The thresher hopper can ho ld as much as two (2)

cages o f FFB at one time . The bunches will then slide into the hoppcr - an inclination

of not less than 30"' The bun ches are fed into the thresher drum by spike re tarders

(auto feeder) which rotate at a contro lled speed usually 2 to 3 rpm. The thresher drum

(capac it y to hold about 30 MT) is of the ho ri zontal ro tating drum type. The ro ta tion of

th e drum subjected the bunches to centrifugal fo rce and when it touches the drum , it

ro lls upward and at a height just above the vertical centre line of the drum, the

bunches fall off to hit the lower portions o f the rota ting drum. The impact causes the

fruitlets to be knocked off the bunches . This is repeated as th e bunches are pushed

forward to the exit end o f the drum by the combined ac tion of fresh incoming bunches

and by the lift ers bars (a ngled to the longitudinal aX Is of the drum) which throws the

bunch forwa rd .

The screw conveyor then co llect the loose fruit incl ud ing some thrash and

di scharge th em into the convey ing or e levatin g system. Thc empty bunch will then

goes to the conveyo r and th e elevator into the incinera tor or bunch hopper. The

fruitl e ts will th en flo w into the digester. This di gester is situated in the press ing

stati on. It is of the verti cal type, s team j acketed vesse l with live s team injection point ,

installed w ith S stirring arms and an expell er arm. Built inside the di gester are also

baffle plate and lining. The loosefruit is fed in to thi s digester where the di gester is

kept full or a t least % at all time to allo w suffi cient retention time fo r the mass passing

digester (MPD) to be di gested and to obtain maximum stirring effec t up to the top pair

3

Chaoler I Introduction

of the stirring arms. Basically the func ti on of this s tation is to extrac t palm oil from

the mesocarp of the fruit by means of a digester, to break plant cells for easier release

during pressing and screw press, i.e. to extract oil from the pericarp fibre by pressing.

The digester mash should be drained orr the o il before it is fed into the press to

enhance press ing effic iency. The main screws of the screw press are arranged side by

side where the MPD are fed directly from the digester via a feeding ch ute. The

presscake will then move into the Cake Breaker Conveyor (CBC).

The cmde o il from the screw press will pass through vibrating sc reens This is

where the solids are removed from the crude oil. The vibrating screens are doubled­

decked and fitted with tightl y stretched stainless steel screen of 20 and 40 mesh size,

genera ted by a rotating eccentric shaft mounted on ro ller bearings on the frame of the

screens. Screening is assisted by hot water jet sprayed to the incomi ng crude oil.

At the deper ica rper station , the presscake from the CBC w ill be subjected to nuts (for

kernel recovery) and fibre (as boiler fuel) separation after the oil extraction . The nuts

are cleaned of the remaining strand of fibre stick ing to the nut. Fibre is pneumatically

blown to the boiler house. The depericarper pneumatic system has been designed and

set with suffi c ient velocity and draught to only lift and convey fibre with the airflow

but the nuts drop and convey to th e drum. Rotary dmm is installed with se ri es of

baffle plate to po lish nuts off th e fibro us threads.

T he nuts from the depericarper sta ti on will be subjected to nut cracking,

usually by the ri pp lc mills at the kernel recovery station to ex tract their o il -bearing

kernels. The nuts bounce between the revolving rotors bar asse mbly and the stationary

ripple plate of the ripple mills for crack ing and deshelling. The cracked nuts will then

be Oowed into the Kaolin claybath separa tor to separate the shell and kernel. The

4

Chapter 1 Introduction

method is to maintain the specific gravity to within 1.16 to J.2 so kernel eould rise to

the surface, flow gradually with the Kaolin solution to the kernel discharge end. Shell

will sink to the bottom of the conical tank and flow to the shell side of the vibrating

screen. Silos are used to retain kernels, kept at 60°C for 6 to 8 hrs retention time.

For the crude oil which has passed through the vibrating screens, will now go

through the clarification station where the pure crude oil will be separated from the

cmde oil as well as the solid impurities and dissolved moisture content. The

clarification station is of the vertical continuous tank system and equipped with

centrifuges as well as sludge separator (separates the sludge from the crude oil) and

purifiers. In this station, vacuum drying equipment is also used to remove the final

traces of moisture from the purified oil before pumping into the CPO tank, ready to be

dispatched. Sludge will enter the sludge pit and recycled.

The schematic flow diagram of the process is shown in Figurc 1.1. The palm

oil milling until today is still a very mechanical process. It has resisted putting in the

electronics to make it looked sophisticated or elegant. Partly because the equipment

used and the materials handled do not lend themselves easily to an automated process

and partly because the economics of putting these in still does not really work out. It

was observed there had been a fair bit of changes in the milling machinery and

process technique. If we are to talk about the new design concepls of milling

technology, the list could go on.

But this paper does not sought to explain the central ideas of the process flow

111 which the FFB is subjected to once it gets to the mill, from the fruit reception

station (as what they are practically called) to the dispatch product or the new

technology involved.

5

Chapter] introduction

11

6

Chaoter 1 Introduction

This paper meant to cover one thing which should not be treated separately

frolll the deSign, production or maintenance of a milling technology, wltiell i~ the

safety aspect in the process industry. Safety is inextricably interwoven into these

and othe/' activities in volved. It depends on both the technical competence and

safety awareness of all staf], and employees. Pursuit of safety is largely 1/ matter of

identifying hazards, eliminating them where possible or otherwise protecting

against their consequences. Lesson learnt from the past is that the capacities of

process plants and the magnitude of major losses involving them have increased

continuously and are still increasing.

It may seem presumptuous to cover all the hazards of pa lm oil milling industry

wi th thei r many different technologies. Yet when considering the causes of part

acc idents, most appear to be we ll within the understand ing of anyone with a broad

techn ical background.

1.3 Objective of this Report

As mentioned ea rlier, thi s repoI1 implies to cover the overview of the

indus trial safe ty practiced in a palm oil milling industry. Where appropriate, th is

report will identify the major contributors to the risks from accidents (h igh-r isk arcas)

that threatens the safety and health of the emp loyees andior the general public, cause

the loss or production andior capital equipment, to draw-up the safety precautions to

be taken or to be aware of, as we ll as to define or develop any preventive measures

where approp ri ate at every stati ons. Basical ly, the mission stateme nt of this report is

to develop a system approach (termed Safety Engineering Study) to indllstrial

7

Chaoler J Introduction

accident prevention for a typical palm oil milling industry ill Sarawak . Though,

maybe by coincidences , certain coverage may apply to other palm oil mills in

Malaysia.

1.4 Rational/Justification of this Report

Safety references are abounded but not specified. Meaning to say, even though

there are lots of books, journals, articles on industrial safety can be found on shelves,

no particular one has been specifically on palm oil milling industry. Sure , not many

accidents had occurred in this industry for the last ten years, but it can never be

ass umed that things will be the way it has been. Furthermore, how few the accidents

that occurred in this industry, it does affect the overall statistics as per Table 1.2

below.

Table 1.2: Statistic on Total N umber of Industrial Accident in Malaysia

Year Reported Oeath

1995 114137 828

1996 106508 1020 -

1997 86589 1473

1998 85338 In 3

1999 92074 9~4

\ 2000 (up to June) 36854 357

Source: Socia l Security Or gal1lsntion (SOCSO)

For 1999 a lone, Manufacturing and Process ing sec tors contributed to 44 .25%

o f the overall number of industrial acc ide nt in Ma la ysia . T able 1.3 shows the la test

s ta ti s ti c available on the total number of industria l accident acco rding to industrial

sectors in Malaysia as per year 1999.

8

Chaoler f In troduction

The report does not act to be a safety handbook or a so lut ion fo r all sa fety

matters in a typical pa lm oil mill , its approach is more to the poss ibilities of acc idents

tha t tend to increase, not only in types but also in magnitude. The causes and effec t of

accidents and precautionary measures that can be taken for their preve ntion and

avoidances will also be included. Afterall , the increase in publi c apprehension has not

loosened the desire for safety. The increase has been ;/1 the desire to know why

accidents happen and how to prevent itji'om happening.

Table 1.3. Statistic on Total Number of Industri al Acc ident Accordi ng to

Industrial Sector - 1999

Sectors Nu mber of Re ported Accide nts

a) Agriculture, Forestry and Fi shing 12753

b) Mining and Quarrying 75 6 -­

c) Manufactur ing and Processi ng 40730 -

d) Co nstruction 4747

e) Elec tr icity, Gas, Wa te r & San itary Serv ices 592

t) Commerce 146~5

g) Transport , Storage & Communication 4462

h) F inancial Instituti on and Insurance 627

I) Sen-ices 5987

j ) C ivil Services 6735

T otal No. of Accidents 92074

Source: Social Secu rity Organisa tion (SOCSO)

Needless to say, most human acti vities carry s pec ial ri sks and safety is a

manageable acti vity, cannot be defin ed as somethi ng whic h is complete ly ra ndom,

w ithout recogni za ble cause or is a dependent upon the act of GOD . Safety requires

identifi cation and contro l of causal agcnts, in o rder to provide value to o rga ni zations.

9

-

Chaoter I Introduction

Its safety va lue is the conserva tion of limited personnel and other resources. If this is

done with grea t leverage (i n telms of use of resources), and if it is done optimally

within system constraints, safety is successful in contributing to the boltom line. It

must be emphasized that the best application of safety is early in system developmen t,

rather than after the fact.

The foll owing features are characteri sti cs of the palm oil milling industry:

I) Large scale of operations with capacity of process ing from 20MTfhr to

60MTfhr.

2) Continuous operat ion, with long runs, more than one (1) line operat ing at a

time and shifts working.

3) Each equipment or machine is designed for a specific process.

4) Mcchanical handling of process materia ls.

5) Use of process tempera ture and pressure abo ve or below ambient such as the

use of pressuri zed vesse ls.

6) Total enclosure of process materi als within pipes and equipment.

7) Use of liqu id and gaseous process materials.

8) Requiring consistent maintenance of machinery to avoid downtime.

9) Inspection, in sta llation and supervision of certain process equipment or

machines requiring skilled/trained personnel.

10) Production of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) and Pa lm Kernel (PK).

With characteri stics as above, surely safety is of much concern and shou ld not be

taken lightly or for granted.

10

Chapter I [n trQductiQn

1.5 Definition of Terms Used in this Report

As per defined by Internet Encarta Encyclopedia:

Industrial Safety Area of sa fety engineering and public hea lth that deals with the

protection of wo rkers' health th rough control of the who le

env iro nl11 ent to reduce and elil11inate haza rds.

As defined by Webster 's Unabridged Dictionary:

Safety The cond ition of be ing sa fe : freedol11 from exposure to danger;

freed frol11 harm, injury or risk: no longer being threatened by

danger or injUlY; the qua lity or state o f not presenting ri sks ;

kn owledge o r skill in methods of avoidi ng acc iden t or disease;

freedom frol11 dange r.

Accident An unp lanned intem'ption of planned business acti vity ,

resu lting in loss.

Loss Degradati on of a system or component.

Risk The resu lt of loss-probabil ity occunence and the acceptability

of that loss.

Ha zard The condition with the potenti al of causi ng injury or damage.

I l

Chaoter 1 Introduction

1.6 Limitations of this Report

This report onl y covers palm oil milling industry, not plantation or refinery

acti vities whic h also contribute to the economics of pa lm oi l industry as a whole in

Malaysia. Study was only carried out on two (2) palm oil mill s in Sarawak (M ukah

Palm Oil Mill and Niah Palm Oil Mill) and should not be taken as a representative of

the palm oil milling industry throughout Malaysia.

Since it covers a broad and complicated subject, compromises have been made to

keep the infonnation to a reasonable size, whil e attempting to empbasize the

important poi nts.

This report does not attempt to cover hazards of chemica l because not much

chemical substances are used in palm oil mill processing. Lega l and compensation

aspects of safe ty have also been omitted due to lack of competency in those areas.

12

Chapter 2 Safety Standards and Practices

Common belief is that "Safety is a common sense". But accidents keep on

happening over and over again . Why is thi s so? Human being tends to be momentarily

fo rge tful , careless and reckless Therefore, specific regulations regarding safe ty is

needed to spell ou t certain mi nimum requirements such as installation of guards, used

of protective equ ipment, and safe work ing procedures To ensure these compliance,

there is a penalty.

2.1 Industrial Safety Practices

Following are the app lied mai n acts that concerned with the health and safety

of the work ing population of the palm oil milling industry and those who may be put

at ri sk from the manner in which the work is being can·ied out are:

I) The Factories and Mac hinery Ac t, 1967

The Factories and Machinery (Notification , Certification of Fitness and

Inspection) Regulations, 1970 Regulation 10(2) Part III Inspec tion. (Refer to

Foml A, Band C Sixth Schedu le fo r Celtificate of Fitness Steam Boiler,

Unfired Pressure Vesse l and Hoisting Machi ne in Appendix A I, A2 and A3

respecti vely)

13