Safety management processes

Process Safety Management (PSM), under OSHA, attempts to protect employees exposed to toxicity, fire, or explosion. Many plants employing chemical engineers must do a PSM consisting of fourteen parts. Some of the parts are greatly facilitated if the team includes chemical engineers. 

1 was included on teams for the following parts Process Safety Information, Process Hazards Analysis, and Mechanical Integrity. The experience was rewarding and you are encouraged to participate in PSM if given the opportunity. Our plants are safer because of hard work by dedicated teams. 

Safety relief systems are verified as part of PSM. This includes the PS Vs themselves and also flare system piping networks. Safety relief valves are covered in Section I—Fluid Flow. A good procedure for sizing the flare system piping is found in Section 19—Safety-Relief Manifolds. This method, first published in the Oil and Gas Journal, has been adopted by APl. I have also used 

Working with a Process Hazards Analysis (PHA) team was particularly rewarding. The plant operators on the team pointed out items that they had considered safety problems for years, but that hadn t been fully addressed until the PHA team was formed. We used the What if analysis method. Many methods are available for PHA. 

As part of PHA the author checked the natural ventilation system for an auxiliary electrical generator building that contained gas engine generators. The procedure to perform this API recommended practice can be found in Section 19—Safety-Natural Ventilation. 

PSM is a program oriented toward the management and control of processes that handle large quantities of hazardous and flammable chemicals. The focus of PSM is on the prevention of major incidents in facilities that typically employ very sophisticated technology. 

The Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS, 2007) provides guidance as to what constitutes a PSM event  

PSM is not new indeed, it has always been an integral part of the process industries. Companies have always carried out activities such as the writing of procedures, planning for 

Although industry tended to resist these new regulations, they did force companies to complete their process safety work promptiy. Prior to the regulation, there was a tendency to put off tasks such as the writing of operating procedures until we have time. OSHA required that most of the elements be implemented immediately. The standard put managers feet to the fire. 

The PSM standard (OSHA, 1992) promulgated by the U.S. OSHA is widely followed, not only in the United States, where it is the law, but in other countries that use it on a voluntary basis. Large companies can use it to set up a uniform system for aU their international operations, largely because the creation of the standard involved considerable input from the leading operating companies of the time. 

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce you to process safety management, including the background that led to specific public laws, definitions applicable to this unique area, and requirements for process safety management, both in the United States and in Canada. This is a fascinating new area for both the safety or system safety professional and the process industry practitioner. 

Probably the most important reason for having focus on PSM is that economies of scale dictate increasingly larger processing and manufacturing facilities and therefore the opportunity for larger disasters. 

Much of the content of this chapter is based on an OSHA pamphlet (U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Department 1993) and the System Safety Analysis Handbook (Stephans and Talso 1997). 

A host of worldwide major accidents (a chemical explosion in Texas City, Texas, in 1947 that killed 581 and injured about 3,500 the leak of methyl isocyanate gas in Bhopal, India, in 1984 and the explosion of the Piper Alpha oil platform in the North Sea in 1988 Table 21-1) focused industry and the public to the problem in the United States. This was further prompted by the vision 

System Safety for the 21 Century The Updated and Revised Edition of System Safety 2000, by Richard A. Stephans 

Companies involved in processing certain hazardous chemicals are required to take additional precautions to protect the employees. The purpose is to prevent or minimize the consequences of catastrophic releases of toxic, reactive, flammable, or explosive chemicals that may result in toxicity, fire, or explosion hazards. They are required to document what the company has done in regard to process safety if 

The employer must compile written process safety information before conducting any process hazard analysis to enable the employer and the employees to identify and understand hazards posed by processes involving highly hazardous chemicals. This shall include information pertaining to 

The employer shall perform an initial hazard evaluation on processes covered by the standard to identify, evaluate, and control the hazards involved in the process. 

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Process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals... 

One of the six elements of Responsible Care is the Codes of Management Practice, and one of the codes is the Process Safety Code of Management Practices (34). This code emphasi2es management commitment and accountabiUty, information sharing, and community relations, but also includes 11 of the 14 specific elements of the legislated process safety management standards developed later. 

Protection of Employees. In 1986, shortly after the Bhopal disaster, OSHA contracted to develop a federal standard on process ha2ards management. A proposed standard was issued in 1990, and the Process Safety Management of Highly Ha2ardous Chemicals standard was issued and implemented in 1992 (36). 

Investigating Chemical Process Incidents Auditing Process Safety Management Systems Making Acute Risk Decisions... 

Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals Tide 29, Subtitie B, Chapt. XVII, Part 1910, Subpart H, Paragraph 119, of the Code ofFederal Regulations (29 CER 1910.119), FederalRegisterhl >()) 6403, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Feb. 24, 1992). 

Guidelinesfor Technical Management of Chemical Process Safety Center for Chemical Process Safety, New York, 1989 Guidelines for Auditing Process Safety Management Systems Center for Chemical Process Safety, New York, 1993. 

Accidental Release Provisions. The 1990 CAAA includes provisions similar to OSHA s process safety management standard for minimi2ing the accidental release of air toxics. Based on types and quantities of ha2ardous chemicals on-site, a faciUty is required to develop and implement... 

Unless some discipline is imposed, engineering personnel, especially where contractors are involved, will define far more alarms than plant operations require. This situation may be addressed by simply setting the alarm hmits to values such that the alarms never occur. However, changes in alarms and alarm hmits are changes from the perspec tive of the Process Safety Management regulations. It is prudent to impose the necessary discipline to avoid an excessive number of alarms. Potential guidelines are as follows ... 

The regulatoiy environment will continue to change. As of this writing, the key regulatory instrument is OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119 that pertains to process safety management within plants in which certain chemicals are present. 

Government regulations reqmre hazard and risk analysis as part of process safety management (PSM) programs. These are part of the process safety programs of many chemical process facilities. 

Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) (Dowell, 1994, pp. 30-34.) The OSHA rule for Process Safety Management (PSM) of Highly Toxic Hazardous Chemicals, 29 CFR 1910.119, part (e), reqmres an initial PHA and an update every five years for processes that handle listed chemicals or contain over 10,000 lb (4356 kg) of flammable material. The PHA must be done by a team, must include employees such as operators and mechanics, and must have at least one person skilled in the methodology employed. Suggested methodologies from Process Safety Management are listed in Table 26-1. 

TABLE 26-1 Process Hazard Analysis Methods Listed in the OSHA Process Safety Management Rule... 

The key steps in the audit process are outlined according to preaudit ac tivities, audit activities, and postaudit activities in Fig. 26-12. These activities are described in detail in Guidelines for Auditing Process Safety Management Systems (CCSP, 1993) and will be only briefly discussed in this sec tion. 

FIG. 26-12 Typical steps in the process safety management audit process. (CCSP, 1993, by peimission of AlChE. )... 

The next process step evaluates the process safety management systems to determine if they are adequate to achieve the desired results, and if they are used as intended. This evaluation is highly subjective on the auditors part. This step sets the stage for the rest of the audit, guiding the auditor s information gathering and focusing attention on critical areas. 

Use Process Safety Management techniques to minimize the risk to people, and the environment... 

Drake, E. M. and C. W. Thurston. 1992. A Safety Evaluation Eramework for Process Hazards Management in Chemical Eacilities with PES-Based Controls. Process Safety Management Paper 73d. AlChL 1992 Summer National Meeting, August 1992, Minneapolis, MN. 

Van der Schaaf, T.W. 1996. PRISMA A Risk Management Tool Based on Incident Analysis, International Conference and Workshop on Process Safety Management and Inherently Safer Processes, Center for Chemical Process Safety of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, New York. 

Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals (PSM) OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119... 

It is incumbent upon the toller to develop and follow internal management systems as appropriate to support business needs, production needs, process safety, environmental responsibility, and worker health. The selection process should have considered whether or not satisfactory systems are in place. Nevertheless, the contract or auxiliary documents may be the vehicle used to help ensure that the system reviewed is the system actually used for completing the toll in question. Within the process safety management system, the management of change and training elements are essential subsystems. 

Though occasionally a time consuming exercise, a well-performed PHA can be a source of satisfaction and may be required by the OS HA Process Safety Management Standard or the EPA Risk Management Program Rule. It is important members actively participate and lively interaction is promoted during the sessions. 

Trade Secrets When a toll involves proprietary information, a system must exist to ensure that employees have the process safety related knowledge needed to meet the intent of the process safety management system. 

Are materials subject to the requirements of the OSHA Process Safety Management Rule (29 CFR 1910.119) or the EPA Risk Management Program Rule (40 CFR 68) ... 

Is any part of the facility covered under OSHA s Process Safety Management rule ... 

Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardons Chemicals Explosives and Blasting Agents Einal Rnle, Federal Register, Vol. 57, No. 36, Eeh-rnary 24, 1992. 

Process Safety Management (PSM) A program or activity involving the application of management principles and analytical techniques to ensure the safety of chemical process facilities. Sometimes called process hazard management. Each principle is often termed an element or component of process safety. 

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