Process safety management training standards

The key reasons driving the development of these technical programs are (1) rapid advances in technology, (2) desire to eliminate accidents in the workplace, (3) potential catastrophic risks, and (4) new regulations and guidelines from the government. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently enacted a process safety management (PSM) standard that requires employers to train their employees on process fundamentals. This standard applies to initial certification and recertification of employees. (See Chapter 2 for more details on the PSM standard.)... 

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. 

In the United States, the OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.119 Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals requires that a hazard analysis must be carried out for any process involving certain listed chemicals (see Appendix A of the standard) or involving more than 10,0001b (4535.9 kg) of flammable gas or liquid. Employers must involve employees in the hazard analysis, and it must be made available to employees and updated at least every 5 years. Employees and contractors must be trained in safe work practices associated with the identified process hazards. Eull details of these and other legal requirements as well as descriptions of the information that must be included in the analysis can be found in the standard. The most recent version of this standard and all other OSHA regulations are available at www.osha.gov. 

The first major element is Employee Participation [29 CFR 1910.119 (c)]. This requires that affected employees (those who could be affected by an incident) not only have access to pertinent Process Safety Management information, but also be allowed to provide input to its development and use. It is expected that affected employees will be trained in the standard s content. Many companies not only welcome employees input, but also involve them in the development and management of the individual elements. It is expected that all employee participation in PSM implementation will be documented. ... 

In designing the Process Safety Management standard (PSM), OSHA looked at overall process safety from a broad system s view and identified 14 key elements that industry should address to minimize catastrophic accidents. The 14 elements cover the things that can cause a process failure and accidents. Some of the major causes of process accidents are a lack of training, lack of information about process equipment, lack of equipment inspections, poor coordination with contractors, and lack of employee participation in process planning and implementation. The program is triggered by above-threshold quantities of any of 136 chemicals. The purpose of the standard is to minimize the consequences of a catastrophic release of a toxic, flammable, reactive, or explosive chemical. The importance of this standard is that it requires safety analysis and names certain analytic techniques to use or their equivalent. 

Process safety is a prerequisite to worker safety and begins when the plant or manufacturing line is on the drawing board. From comprehensive design and hazard analysis through preventive maintenance and employee training, we assure our operations not only meet the Occupational Safety Health Administration s (OSHA) Process Safety Management standard, but also are intrinsically safe. 

Training required by OSHA standards, including the Process Safety Management standard... 

An audit is a technique used to gather sufficient facts and information, including statistical information, to verify compliance with standards. Companies must select a trained individual or assemble a trained team to audit the process safety management... 

Management of functional safety in this company is implemented under the Process Safety Management (PSM) program. Extensive corporate standards address all aspects of PSM, such as mechanical integrity, quality assurance, and training. These standards require that all new projects implemented at company manufacturing facilities comply with the requirements of ISA-84.01-2004 where applicable. 

To develop a safe design, it is necessary to first design and specify all equipment and systems in accordance with applicable codes and standards. Once the system is designed, a process safety shutdown system is specified to assure that potential hazards that can be detected by measuring process upsets are detected, and that appropriate safety actions (normally an automatic shutdown) are initiated. A hazards analysis is then normally undertaken to identify and mitigate potential hazards that could lead to fire, explosion, pollution, or injury to personnel and that cannot be detected as process upsets. Finally, a system of safety management is implemented to assure the system is operated and maintained in a safe manner by personnel who have received adequate training. 

Prevention Program —Management System —Process Hazards Analysis —Process Safety Information —Standard Operating Procedures —Training... 

Management of Change. The work site employer must establish and implement written procedures to manage changes except replacements in kind to facilities that effect a covered process. The standard requires the work site employer and contract employers to inform and train their affected employees on the changes prior to start-up. Process safety information and operating procedures must be updated as necessary. 

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