My industrial building is at risk: how should I react?

An industrial risk is an accident that has major consequences for your employees, your facilities, residents, or the environment. For you, this may mean a production stoppage, or the inability to store your goods.

According to Barpi (Office of Risk Analysis and Industrial Pollution), 60% of industrial accidents occur during "office hours". Technological accidents are strongly linked to human errors. So you can think ahead to prevent them!

In this article, find out how to:

• Define the risks to your industry
• Adopt a preventive approach to avoid industrial accidents
• Know the solutions that exist to replace your warehouse

What risks can threaten my industrial buildings?

The INRS (National Institute of Research and Safety) classifies industrial risks in to two categories:

• natural risks: these result from a natural disaster - a forest fire, water damage, land movement, etc.
• technological risks: these are generated by human activity. These are often chronic, but they are the ones you can prevent more easily. Such preventive work is all the more important as technological risks can have consequences for your staff or the environment.

All risks that affect your industrial building are therefore governed either by the Labour Code or by the Environmental Code.
Technological risks arise when the company is in a deteriorated situation, but does not take immediate action to remedy this. They could be linked to:

• Your chemical products (toxic, corrosive, inflammables, etc.)
• Your machines (malfunctioning tools, sensors not working, obsolescence, etc.)
• Your installations (choice of construction materials, or obsolete buildings)
• Your employees (negligence, error, or lack of training)

The consequences can include the following: human consequences (from minor injury to death), economic consequences (impact on businesses and the surrounding communities) and environmental consequences (destruction of wildlife and vegetation, or pollution of the water table).

In the case of the fatal accident on 17 February 2018 at the Sainpol plant in Dieppe, the unions held the company responsible. They criticised the industrial oil manufacturer for failing to comply with certain preventive measures:

• The company did not ventilate an area under maintenance, which increased the risk of explosion
• The company had urgently contracted a new service provider who was not familiar with the industrial site

The implementation of a preventive approach is essential to limit the risk of accidents. Training your employees and subcontractors about these risks improves their working conditions, and helps maintain the production rate. Preventative maintenance of equipment prevents technical failures that could cause production shutdowns or defects in the finished product.

How to anticipate, and to communicate in case of an industrial accident in your premises?

Start by anticipating your industrial risks. Article L4121-2 of the Labour Code stresses the importance of prevention.
Steps to identify and anticipate risk situations for your industrial building:

1. Describe the installations and production processes
2. Identify dangerous phenomena or behaviour
3. Estimate the frequency and level of exposure
4. Determine the potential consequences (human, economic, and their severity)
5. Draft the Single Document (document unique - DU) and the Hazard Study (étude de dangers - EDD)

When performing a risk assessment, this must be formalised in two key documents: the DU, which lists and monitors risks, and the EDD, which determines the action plan to reduce the likelihood of risk, and the actions to take in the event of an accident.

Communication about risks and incidents is a point not to be overlooked, communicating before, during, and after crisis management. Organising your communication beforehand will allow you to be prepared in the event of a crisis:

• Appoint a crisis manager
• Make a list of people/organisations to be informed
• Determine an action plan to manage your accident
• Prepare a communication strategy (press and social networks)

The image you transmit will be the cornerstone of how you manage your crisis. Corporate transparency is a major issue in the management of industrial risks. Limit yourself to the facts, and do not minimise your responsibility in the event of an operational or construction accident in a risk area.

Other standards should also be taken into account in the case of the construction of an industrial building, such as the Seveso III directive, which deals with chemical risks, or the Eurocodes. We have set out the regulatory aspect that applies to the construction of industrial buildings in this comparative guide:

All accidents, however, cannot be avoided. Once your storage capacity is affected, you need to be responsive, and to know which solution is best for you.

What solutions should be considered to replace a damaged building following an incident?

Three solutions exist to make a new space available, or to renew the one affected:

• The so-called "traditional" construction
• The outsourcing your storage to an external service provider
• The acquisition of a modular building

Answer the following questions to be able to draft effective specifications:

1. What is your production or storage requirement? (required surface area, logistical constraints, timeframe for the solution)
2. What was the cause of the accident? (negligence or human error, technical failure, or lack of communication)
3. What are the legislative and safety characteristics of your sector?

If you opt for a classical construction, it will not be operational until about a year after the construction decision. On the other hand, you can adapt the warehouse to your own production or storage requirements, and your safety standards.

If you prefer to outsource your storage, you should choose a service provider specialising in your area of activity. Make sure it meets the standards that are specific to your sector. However, a specialised logistics platform can be very expensive for you in the long run. Logistics outsourcing is ideal for a temporary solution, during the time needed to bring your damaged building back up to standard.

If you choose a modular structure, determine the complexity of your need. A standardised modular warehouse is quick to install and remove, as it requires little or no prior work. A more specialised solution will take longer to set up as studies have to be carried out beforehand. Ask a supplier who can understand your issues. A modular building easily adapts to your sector's regulations. In addition, you have the advantage of having an operational or storage area directly on your site.

Changes in your production or storage surface area are not always linked to a risk or an incident. A need for growth, a peak of activity, or a reorganisation are other reasons to construct an industrial building. These three alternatives are also valid for this type of situation: you can study the economic, operational and regulatory aspects in this comparative guide: