Procedures process safety

Prior to startup of new facilities or facilities that have undergone changes, a Pre-Startup Safety Review (PSSR) must be performed by a supervisor of the affected process unit. If the supervisor is assured that construction and equipment are in accordance with design specifications and that affected procedures, process safety information, and training are updated, he completes the PSSR Form 11—3. If any of the pre-startup requirements have not been met satisfactorily, the supervisor sees to it that the deficiencies are corrected and... 

Process safety refers to the application of engineering, science, and human factors to the design and operation of chemical processes and systems. The primary purpose of process safety is to prevent injuries, fatalities, fires, explosions, and unexpected releases of hazardous materials. Process safety focuses on the individual chemical processes and operational procedures associated with these systems. A process safety analysis is used to establish safe operating parameters, instrument interlocks, alarms, process design, and start-up, shutdown, and emergency procedures. Process safety programs cannot completely eliminate risk they can only control or reduce those risks. 

OSH A and the EPA developed the process safety management (PSM) standard to prevent the catastrophic release of toxic, hazardous, or flammable materials that could lead to a fire, explosion, or asphyxiation. Several critical elements of the PSM standard include employee training, operations procedures, process safety, employee participation, and hot work. 

Incident investigation requirements Mechanical integrity requirements Standard operating procedures Process safety information Management of change Required employee participation Required hot work permits Contractor requirements... 

Guidelines for Hazards Ena/uation Procedures Second Edition with WorkedExampks American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Center for Chemical Process Safety, New York, 1992. 

Center for Chemical Process Safety. In 1985, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers estabHshed the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) (New York). The objective of the CCPS was to help prevent catastrophic chemical accidents by compiling information on the latest scientific and engineering practices, safety programs, and adininistrative procedures of the larger members of the chemical industry, so that they can be shared with other (and particularly the smaller) members of the chemical and petrochemical industries. 

Process Safety Analysis This part treats the analysis of a process or project from the standpoint of hazards, risks, procedures for making potential damage estimates, and project reviews and audits. It can be helpful to management in assessing risks in a project. It consists of the following ... 

To distinguish between a review and an audit, some definitions will be provided. A review is a critical examination or evaluation of any operation, procedure, condition, event, or equipment item. Reviews can take many forms and be identified as project reviews, design reviews, safety reviews, pre-start-up reviews, and so on. The following discussion of the review process will deal with project reviews associated with capital projects and focus on the area of process safety. 

An understanding of the management systems in place to control and direct the process safety of the facility can be obtained from reading engineering and administrative standards, guidelines, and procedures that shoiud be available in the background information supplied... 

Process Safety System (PSS) A process safety system comprises the design, procedures, and hardware intended to operate and maintain the process safely. 

Operators with previous experience in similar tolls teamed with engineers using the process safety information can identify the specific procedures needed within each subcategoiy. Whenever possible, tiy to use experience from duplicate tolls or similar processes. 

Effective procedure training not only affects process safety, it also affects quality. Process yields, batch turnaround time, and equipment cleaning are all enhanced when the procedures are technically accurate and fully understood by the crews. 

Employee Participation Preparation for startup is an excellent opportunity to document employee participation. If a toller is covered under the OSHA PSM regulation, they must record PHA participants, procedure writers and reviewers, PSSR team members and test run team members. All these roles reflect the true intent of this element of process safety. Eveiyone benefits from intimate involvement in the management system used to protect life and health. 

The general purpose of an audit may be to determine if the toller has management systems and documented procedures in place to ensure process safety, environmental responsibility, product quality and traceability of materials. The need to audit could be to evaluate compliance with regulations or accordance with client requirements related to specific performance elements. A subjective rating system for ranking management systems audit results is often used. An example of one that might be appropriate is shown below ... 

Have appropriate revisions been made to process safety information, P IDs, and operating procedures ... 

Audit (Process Safety Audit) An inspection of a plant or process unit, drawings, procedures, emergency plans, and/or management systems, etc., usually by an independent, impartial team. 

Many maintenance risks are related to unclear and unsafe procedures. See Chapter 6. Additional information regarding management of change can be found in Chapter 7 of the CCPS Guidelines for Technical Management of Chemical Process Safety (CCPS, 1989b). 

The audit team, through its systematic analysis, should document areas that require corrective action as well as where the process safety management system is effective. This provides a record of the audit procedures and findings and serves as a baseline of operation data for future audits. It will assist in determining changes or trends in future audits. 

The employer is responsible for developing and implementing written operating procedures that provide dear instructions for safely conducting activities involved in each covered process consistent with the process safety information by addressing requirements, responsibilities, and procedures for ... 

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