Process Area Housekeeping

Inadequate housekeeping controls in laboratories, process, or operating areas can result in process waste, leakage, and spillage accumulations that can lead to increased fire losses. Such accumulations are typically from one of several causes  

Housekeeping practices that allow spilled or released combustible or flammable process materials to accumulate could provide fuel for a fire to start or allow more rapid or vigorous fire spread than protection systems can manage. 

Areas where combustible powders are handled in bulk quantities or areas containing dust-producing equipment should be cleaned on a regularly scheduled basis. Horizontal overhead surfaces, such as tops of beams, and concealed or other out-of-sight spaces where dust can accumulate, should be identified and included in the cleaning schedule or changed to minimize the potential for dust collection. 

Using compressed air to blow dust off surfaces is discouraged because dust suspended in the air during blow-down operations may produce a potentially explosive mixture. Vacuum cleaners should be used. These may be either portable or attached to a central system. When portable units are used, they should be appropriately approved for use in any hazardous location at the facility. 

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Housekeeping as used here includes indoor and outdoor plant care and maintenance. It extends to every part of the plant (offices, processing areas, laboratories, etc.) a fire that starts in an office area may be equally as serious as one that starts in the plant area. These topics are considered in great detail in the NFPA Fire Protection Handbook All personnel should be familiar with the material applicable to their operations. In addition, the safety committee should consider housekeeping practices in its inspection procedures. Of particular interest are building and plant care and maintenance, indoor and outdoor storage (manner of storage compatibility and... 

Housekeeping (contamination control) Efforts to minimize contamination in the processing area. Examples include cleaning surfaces, reducing clutter, storage in closed cabinets, no dust-catching surfaces such as the tops of cabinets or spaces under cabinets that are hard to clean, etc. 

Nitiile rubber presents no unusual hazards when processed and handled in areas with good housekeeping and ventilation. Like other elastomers, nitrile... 

If our inspection process has pointed out areas in need of housekeeping, and these same areas continually show up on our inspection, an adjustment would appear to be in order. One possible solution would be to spend more time and effort on housekeeping issues. However, no matter how much time and effort we spend on housekeeping, we can usually find places lacking in housekeeping. Possibly there is no money, time, equipment, or other resources available to perform housekeeping activities at this time. 

September 9,1999— Cleanliness and organization of toxic areas is so bad that processing is shut down for 59 hours to get housekeeping issues straightened out. 

Housekeeping in the process industry is basically the same as housekeeping in the home. In order to maintain a safe, orderly environment workers must keep their work areas (control room and outside unit area) neat, clean, and uncluttered. Good housekeeping accomplishes the following goals ... 

Process technician—inspects area and ensures good housekeeping, blinds, isolates and clears equipment, vessels, tanks and piping, immobilizes power driven equipment (lockout/tagout), determines PPE required, fills out the permit, and posts it at the job site. 

Sorting The first step in a 5S application is to get rid of everything not needed, all the clutter, and to achieve an atmosphere of orderliness. When that orderliness has been achieved in operational and storage areas—both for work in process and equipment needed to do the work—efficiency and housekeeping are improved, hazards and risks are reduced, and time wasted searching for work items is eliminated. 

Housekeeping—maintenance of cleanliness and order closely associated with safety in the chemical processing industry. Process technicians are required to keep their immediate areas clean. 

One of the most important areas of balancing is the single-component balancing as a basis for mass and utilities accounting. Results of this kind of balancing are invaluable in good housekeeping in process plants. Typical applications are... 

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