Professional associations, process safety

Enhancement of Process Safety Knowledge—The level of performance in this area can be based on analysis of involvement in internal and external research, including CCPS programs and professional and trade association programs (both domestic and international), improved prredictive systems, such as toxicological data and trend information on maintenance failures, and a process safety reference library. 

Companies with strong chemical reactivity hazard management programs should strive to benefit from the latest advances in process safety technology, and keep abreast of technological advances through active participation in professional and trade associations. 

Professional and trade associations such as the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the American Chemistry Council (ACC), the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association (SOCMA), and the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) provide voluntary chemical process safety guidance to their members. 

As previously stated, the American Chemistry Council also recognizes this concept as an integral part of the code of Responsible Care , Process Safety Code of Management Practices, Companies should openly share nonproprietary results from internal process safety incident investigations and related research through the auspices of trade and professional associations, and other networking opportunities. Other organizations should strive to benefit from the lessons learned by others and keep abreast of latest developments and safety alerts. 

This publication is intended to provide guidance to HAZOP (Hazard and Operability) and What-If review teams associated with the petroleum, petrochemical, and chemical industries. It describes the nature, responsibilities, methods and documentation required in the performance of such reviews. This ensures the reviews are conducted in a timely, effective and professional manner as may be prescribed by a company s Process Safety Management (PSM) Policy. 

Such success stories may come from within the organization or from external sources including other companies and even other industries. Professional and trade associations, safety organizations, and some customers or suppliers as well as other business publications and sources can be sources for such information. Many of the same organizations hold meetings that discuss lessons learned (see Section 9.2.2). An organization may want to engage the corporate communications and/or public affairs functions to look for opportunities to publicize the company s successes within and outside the firm as well as look for examples outside of process safety successes. 

Industry associations, professional societies, academic institutions, and government agencies provide information on process safety incidents. Several groups sponsor conferences (both domestic and international) that include major sessions on process safety incidents. Documented proceedings from these conferences provide valuable information for selecting metrics based upon historical incidents. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazards Investigation Board (CSB) conducts incident investigations and hazards studies, and documents causal... 

Because there are some minor differences from the OSHA rule, the components of those elements are worthy of further explanation. For example, under human Factors are the following components operator-process/ equipment interface, administrative control versus hardware, and human error assessment. Likewise, under enhancement of process safety knowledge are quality control programs and process safety, professional and trade association programs, the Center for Chemical Ih-ocess Safety (US.) program. 

System safety is an important part of the product life cycle. Allowing the individual employee to find the problems associated with work is no longer acceptable. A proactive approach is necessary because of increased product-liability litigation and increased employee awareness of process-safety concerns. Therefore, the safety professional must make every effort to understand the concepts of system safety. 

Process safety resources via consultants, professional associations and trade associations via the web... 

He was an engineering department head at Crawford Russel, an adjunct professor at Yale University, and a course director at the Center for Professional Advancement. In 1995 he was invited to teach as a Fulbright Scholar. He was a book reviewer for American Scientist, received the Control Hall of Fame Award in 2001 and the Life Time Achievement Award of ISA in 2005. Today, he is the president of the consulting firm Liptak Associates P.C. His work includes the design and optimization of industrial processes, energy conservation, pollution prevention, and safety-related projects. 

Haz-Map is an occupational health database designed for health and safety professionals and for consumers seeking information about the health effects of exposure to chemicals at work. Haz-Map links jobs and hazardous tasks with occupational diseases and their symptoms. Chemicals and biological agents in Haz-Map are linked to industrial processes and other activities such as hobbies. Occupational diseases and their symptoms are associated with hazardous job tasks and possible exposure to hazardous agents. Information from textbooks, journal articles, and electronic databases such as HSDB (described above) is classified and summarized to create this database. 

---