Process Safety awareness

A recent article in Process Safety Progress addressed our industry s need to maintain unease or a sense of vulnerability. The article basically described methods to enhance process safety awareness for process engineers and mechanical designers, as well as plant maintenance, operations and support employees, by showing the failures of the past. The article aimed at reducing complacency within the process industries. This chapter expands on that concept. 

Hopefully you already are very familiar with the superb process-safety-awareness qualities of The Beacon [11]. If not, each installment is a 1-page lesson, free of charge and loaded with contributions from a team of volunteer experts. It is full of practical and sage wisdom. A recent article entitled CCPS Process Safety Beacon A Tool to Promote Process Safety Awareness for Frontline Plant Workers [12], by Dennis Hen-dershot, John Herber and George M. King, gives the ideal introduction ... 

Hendeishot DC, Berber John, King GM. CCPS process safety beacon a tool to promote process safety awareness for front hne plant workers. Process Safe Prog 2011 30 405-7. 

Hopefully you are very familiar with the superb process safety awareness provided by the monthly publication of the Beacon. This tool was fiilly discussed in the earlier chapter, which discussed the need for imease, or keeping a sense of vulnerability, but it will be paraphrased here. The Beacon is a 1-page image rich lesson sponsored by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). It is available free of charge and loaded with contributions from a team of international volunteer experts. 

Figure 17.1 Safety professionals can easily use many of the resources hsted in this section to increase process safety awareness.

BP s system for ensuring an appropriate level of process safety awareness, knowledge, and competence in its refineries organization was criticized. 

The audit includes a review of the process safety information, inspection of the physical facilities, and interviews with all levels of plant personnel. Using the procedures and checklist, the team systematically analyzes compliance with the PSM Rule and any other relevant corporate policies. The training program is reviewed for adequacy of content, frequency and effectiveness of training. Interviews determine employee knowledge and awareness ofthe safety procedures, duties, rules, and emergency response assignments. The team identifies deficiencies in the application of safety and health policies, procedures, and work authorization practices to determine live actions. 

G Are there training and awareness activities to provide an understanding of process safety management obligations and responsibilHies ... 

In the United States, as in many European countries, there is a level of awareness of process safety based on industry history and experience, public perception (as influenced by the news media), and regulatory activity. This level of awareness provides a foundation for the process safety management implementation processes. 

The Paterson facility was not aware of the decomposition reaction. The Process Safety Information (PSI) package, which was used at the Paterson plant to design the Yellow 96 production process in 1990, served as the basis for a Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) conducted in 1995. The PSI noted the desired exothermic reaction but did not include information on the decomposition reaction. 

Regulatory authority may require it—Specific regulations such as Process Safety Management call for a team approach. Management must be aware of wbetber a facility falls under such regulations. 

The purpose of this chapter is to raise awareness. Details to consider for a Management of Change Program suitable to satisfy OSHA s Process Safety Management regulation will follow in Chapter 11. 

There is an increased emphasis on chemical process safety as a result of highly publicized accidents. Public awareness of these accidents has provided a driving force for industry to improve its safety record. There has been an increasing amount of government regulation. 

Chemical process safety involves both the technical and the management aspects of the chemical industry, and this chapter addresses both. It is not enough to be aware of how to predict the effect of process hazards and how to design systems to reduce the risks of these hazards. It also is important to consider how chemical process safety can be managed. Technical people at all levels have a degree of management responsibility, and can contribute to the overall management of safe plants. 

The authors of the Guidelines for Risk Based Process Safety (KBPS) (CCPS, 2007a) described the need for constant vigilance as the price of maintaining an effective process safety management system. An operator not only must be vigilant (aware of both past and current performance), but must not assume that current performance will be maintained, much less improved, without intentional evaluation of critical parts of systems and their performance. Performance measurement and metrics are a critical part of the RBPS system. 

Safety. Solvents with low potential for fire and reactive chemistry hazards are preferred as inherently safe solvents. In all cases, solvents must be used with a full awareness of potential hazards and in a manner consistent with measures needed to avoid hazards. For information on the safe use of solvents and their potential hazards, see Sec. 23, Safety and Handling of Hazardous Materials. Also see Growl and Louvar, Chemical Process Safety Fundamentals with Applications (Prentice-Hall, 2001) Yaws, Handbook of Chemical Compound Data for Process Safety (Elsevier, 1997) Lees, Lo.ss Prevention in the Process Industries (Butterworth, 1996) and Bretherick s Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards, 6th ed., Urben and Pitt, eds. (Butter-worth-Heinemann, 1999). 

During the 1960 s, the chemical industry developed rapidly, and to achieve the benefits of scale, chemical plants became larger and more sophisticated. As communications and greater public awareness heightened the effect of incidents in the industry during the 1970 s, great strides had to be made to improve the tools available to increase process safety and reliability. Its threefold purpose is described below. 

The Chemical Manufacturers Association (CMA) Responsible Care Program is designed to provide CMA members with guidance regarding safety, health, and environmental quality. The program includes six codes of practice covering Community Awareness and Emergency Response (CAER), Pollution Prevention, Process Safety, Distribution, Employee Health and Safety, and Product Stewardship. 

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