Implementation of process safety assessment through case study presentations in a private university in Malaysia

Abstract

Process safety is an important component of a Chemical Engineering degree; however, its industrial application also requires participation from Mechanical Engineers. This study extends and evaluates the use of a previously outlined approach in Australia to evaluating student performance in safety education to a multidisciplinary context. Assessment was via a group presentation and subsequent student-to-student critique of presentations, and the study comprised of 39 Mechanical Engineering and 35 Chemical Engineering students. Students were arranged into multidisciplinary groups of three to four students chosen to ensure a mixed academic ability. Each group was given a safety case study based on a previous safety incident, such as Piper Alpha or Flixborough, and students were expected to talk for 3–4 min based on the allocated topic. Marks were awarded for presentations based on a five-criteria rubric, for the critique via specified criteria, and student feedback was obtained using questions applying a Likert 5 point scale. No obvious difference in marks between Chemical Engineers and Mechanical Engineers was found for the case study assessment, in contrast to the large discrepancy in performance during a test and final exam. Students in this study were found to be more positive to the experience than those in the original study in Australia, and further insights are presented based on student feedback to provide the specific advantages and difficulties of running this assessment in a multidisciplinary context. The work provides recommendations and justifications on how to deliver this form of assessment to a multidisciplinary cohort, which is relevant to education practitioners delivering safety education.