Risk That Belongs to Nobody

Simultaneous operations arise whenever two or more activities take place at the same time in the same area, such that one can affect the safety of the other. The defining feature is that the resulting risk belongs to neither activity's risk assessment.

Typical collisions

• Hot work above or beside a line break or a tank vent.
• Crane lifting over a live process area, or over people working at height.
• Confined space entry while adjacent lines are being flushed or purged.
• Radiography while other trades work nearby.
• Excavation next to a crane outrigger or a scaffold foundation.
• Commissioning of one system while another is still under construction.
• Drilling and production, or construction and operation, on the same facility.

Why assessments miss it

Each work party assesses its own scope, in its own timeframe, against the conditions it expects. Neither is wrong. The gap is structural, and it can only be closed by someone with visibility of both — which is the entire purpose of SIMOPS management.