Personnel experience

In the past, process Raman applications largely were developed and implemented by formally trained Raman spectroscopists, aided by process engineers and other personnel. However, there are far fewer Raman spec-troscopists than chemical, process, or production engineers or other types of personnel. Increasingly, these 

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In each and every one of these problems, I have requested immediate petroleum light ends chromatographic and ASTM D86 lab tests from the client s lab services. In answer to half of these requests, I have been handed a document used for the design of the refinery that was at least 15 to 20 years out of date with current operations. While being handed these archaic wonders, I have been told, We don t get the ASTM test you requested from our lab, and they don t get the proper samples to run the test you requested. I have been even further moved by the fact that these laboratory marvels didn t have the proper apparatus nor the personnel experience in their facilities to run such simple ASTM tests. 

It may be useful to maintain a record of training and experience of employees who have been involved with HAZOP and What-If reviews. This may be useful when planning for participants in future reviews or to determine where training needs are required. A suggested logsheet of personnel experience is indicated below. 

Availability and choice of instrumentation and how use of different equipment could affect assay performance need to be discussed. Definitions of experimental and storage conditions, reagent sources and quality, and lab personnel experiences should be discussed early on. This also applies to the process of assigning expiry dates, assessment of reagent stability, reagent handling, and shipping processes. 

An initial investment of US 100 000-500 000 is typically required. In addition, there will be recurring expenses for personnel, experiment design and installation and support facilities (e.g., water, electricity, radioactive waste treatment and disposal). 

The HSE study suggests that most failures are related to inadequate specification. This may be due to a lack of personnel experience or training or simply due to errors made during the assessment of the following ... 

Although a single project manager may direct activities throughout a project life, he or she will normally be supported by a project team whose oomposition should reflect the type of project and the experience levels of both company and contractor personnel. The make up and size of the team may change over the life of a project to match the prevailing activity levels in each particular section of the project. 

The World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) has been formed, consisting of nuclear plant operators over the entire world who have pledged to assist each other in the achievement of safe operations (25). There are four centers from which this international program is adrninistered one in the United States in Atlanta, Georgia, operated by INPO one in Paris operated by Electricitir de Prance one in Moscow operated by the Ministry of Nuclear Power and one in Tokyo operated by the Central Research Institute for the Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI). Through this mechanism, teams of operators from the U.S., Western Europe, and Asia visit CIS plants to share safety experience and know-how, and similarly, plant personnel from Russian and Eastern European nuclear units visit European, Asian, and U.S. plants. 

Defining the requirements for a pilot-plant control system is often difficult because process plant experience for comparison and evaluation is commonly lacking and the design is frequentiy performed by personnel inexperienced in either instmmentation systems or pilot-plant operations. The isolated and often intermittent nature of pilot-plant operations also inhibits evolution and promotes individual unique installations. This compHcates the selection process. 

Pilot plants are often more hazardous than process plants, even though they are smaller ia size, for many reasons. These iaclude a tendency to relax standard safety review procedures based on the small scale, exceptionally qualified personnel iavolved, and the experimental nature of the research operations the lack of estabhshed operational practice and experience lack of information regarding new materials or processes and lack of effective automatic iatedocks due to the frequendy changing nature of pilot-plant operations, the desire for wide latitude in operating conditions, and the lack of hill-time maintenance personnel. 

Many firms tend to staff their technical service efforts with personnel that have experience solely in the particular business involved. It is often of value to consider individuals having experience in related industries, both to provide a different set of skills and to provide a different perspective than that of in-house experts. This is particularly important in the specialty chemicals arena, where formulations experience is generally of paramount importance. This variety of knowledge is often largely experiential, as much of the treatment and behaviors of formulations in the chemical industry are empirical or experience-based rather than quantitatively understood. It is therefore extremely difficult to train personnel ia dealing with the often nebulous aspects of formulations technology. 

Pump Materials of Construction In the (memical industry, the selection of pump materials of construction is dictated by considerations of corrosion, erosion, personnel safety, and liquid contamination. The experience of pump manufacturers is often valuable in selecting materi s. See section on materials. 

Past experience has shown that cryogenic fluids can be used safelv in industrial environments as well as in typical laboratories provided all facihties are properly designed and maintained, and personnel handling these fluids are adequately trained and supeiwised. There are many hazards associated with ciyogenic fluids. However, the principal... 

Much of the experience and data from wastewater treatment has been gained from municipal treatment plants. Industrial liquid wastes are similar to wastewater but differ in significant ways. Thus, typical design parameters and standards developed for municipal wastewater operations must not be blindly utilized for industrial wastewater. It is best to run laboratory and small pilot tests with the specific industrial wastewater as part of the design process. It is most important to understand the temporal variations in industrial wastewater strength, flow, and waste components and their effect on the performance of various treatment processes. Industry personnel in an effort to reduce cost often neglect laboratory and pilot studies and depend on waste characteristics from similar plants. This strategy often results in failure, delay, and increased costs. Careful studies on the actual waste at a plant site cannot be overemphasized. 

The standard operating procedures demand great attention as they reflect personnel safety issues, safe operating limits and quality considerations. They should be written simply and clearly. The level of detail is determined by the training and experience of the operations staff but should also take into account the hazards inherent in the process. 

The client s personnel who had close involvement in the toll can best determine the toller s future status. A recommendation to use the toller again can be based upon the total experience including audit results and the toller s action item follow-up. A safe, responsive, conscientious toller that met the commercial requirements of the toll contract will most likely be given consideration on future tolls. As discussed in Chapter 2, The Toller Selection Process this recommendation can ease any future selection process for both parties when the toller in question is known to be technically capable. 

QRA practitioners can use to satisfy some QRA objectives. Also, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) has sponsored a project to expand and improve the quality of component failure data for chemical industry use. And many process facilities have considerable equipment operating experience in maintenance files, operating logs, and the minds of operators and maintenance personnel. These data can be collected and combined with industrywide data to help achieve reasonable QRA objectives. However, care must be exercised to select data most representative of your specific system from the wide range available from various sources. Even data from your own plant may have to be modified (sometimes by a factor of 10 or more) to reflect your plant s current operating environment and maintenance practices. 

If sufficient experience does not exist, you should consider whether the consequence potential (Step 4) or the expected frequency of accidents (Step 5) is great. Consideration of consequence potential should include personnel exposure, public demographics, equipment density, and so forth in relation to the intrinsic hazard posed by the material of concern. In Step 5 you may perceive that the expected frequency of accidents alone is important enough to justify a QRA. However, even though your company may not have much relevant experience with the activity of interest, if the consequence potential of these accidents is not great, you may conclude that the expected frequency of the potential accidents is low enough for you to make your decisions comfortably using qualitative information alone. 

The following flowsheet represents the simplest connections combined with good, inexpensive manual regulation required to execute valid experiments. This is the recommended minimum starting installation that can be expanded and made more sophisticated as need and budgets permit. The other extreme, a fully computer controlled and evaluated system that can be run without personnel will be shown later. The concepts, mentioned in Chapter 3, are applied here for the practical execution of experiments in recycle reactors. 

Although extremelv useful, tracer experiments require considerable capital expenditures and personnel. In addition to the difficulties and uncertainty in making estimates of various parameters, especially cr, one of the fficulties in interpreting tracer studies is relating the atmospheric conditions under which the study was conducted to the entire spectrum of atmospheric conditions. For example, trying to interpret a series of tracer... 

Operating experience has proven that unless a continuous program of required lubrication is followed, even the most well-designed units are sure to fail. A proper lubrication management program must incorporate a monthly lubrication schedule, an evaluation of new lubrication products, and supervision to ensure the prescribed procedures are carried out by maintenance personnel. 

Once the highest steam level is set, then intermediate levels must be established. This involves having certain turbines exhaust at intermediate pressures required of lower pressure steam users. These decisions and balances should be done by in-house or contractor personnel having extensive utility experience. People experienced in this work can perform the balances more expeditiously than people with primarily process experience. Utility specialists are experienced in working with boiler manufacturers on the one hand and turbine manufacturers on the other. They have the contacts as well as knowledge of standard procedures and equipment size plateaus to provide commercially workable and optimum systems. At least one company uses a linear program as an aid in steam system optimization. 

If available government agencies do not have personnel with the appropriate skills to assist in solving your lAQ problem, they may be able to direct you to firms in your area with experience in indoor air quality work. Note that even certified professionals from disciplines closely related to lAQ issues (such as industrial hygienists, ventilation engineers, and toxicologists) may not have the specific... 

The major problems arise from accepting an instrument reading as reliable without determining its calibration and the reproducibility of its response and in not obtaining representative tests. Plant personnel must have some experience with and knowledge of the resolution of these problems. 

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