Technical Presentations

A Treasure Hunt towards Process Safety In the Unit Operations Laboratory

Oct 17, 2011
Ronald J. Willey
Integration of the process safety in the chemical engineering curriculum is a requirement. Several places exist and with a multitude of approaches. One approach we have used in our unit operations laboratories for over 30 years is an introductory treasure hunt, mandatory during the first meeting of...

Exposing the Blurry Lines Between Personal Safety and Process Safety Education

Oct 17, 2011
Delmar R. Morrison
Chemical engineering curricula have long been focused on instilling the fundamentals of chemical engineering science in undergraduates and advancing the state of the art through postgraduate study. Unfortunately, a comprehensive focus on safety has never been in the core of the chemical engineering...

PSM Metrics Impact on Process Safety Culture

Mar 15, 2011
Bill Patton
Several years ago our facility recognized the need to expand from a PSM Program managed by a small group to a PSM Culture owned by the full facility. Development and implementation of effective and consistent PSM metrics were utilized to achieve the following: (1) Set the vision for a PSM Culture (...

The Importance of Mechanical Integrity Inspection for Successful Capital Projects

Mar 15, 2011
Paul F. Schubert
It has been a common practice in the petrochemical industry to wait until a new process unit has been placed into service before performing the initial mechanical integrity inspection to establish corrosion rates of new piping systems and vessels. One problem with delaying inspection is that use of...

What to Do When Nothing Has Happened?

Mar 15, 2011
Raymond "Randy" Freeman
Often during a Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) or a Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA) study, historical information indicates no occurrences of a particular undesired event in the plant or system. The analyst must decide on an appropriate measure of the frequency of the undesired event. The...

Good Engineering Practices - Inspection and Test Frequencies

Mar 15, 2011
Richard Prugh
The "Process Safety Management" standard of the Occupational Safety and Health Act [OSHA] requires that "The frequency of inspections and tests of process equipment shall be consistent with applicable manufacturers' recommendations and good engineering practices, and more frequently if determined...

Risk Assessment of a Propane Storage Sphere: Maintain or Decommission?

Mar 15, 2011
Russell A. Ogle
Ten years ago, the authors were asked to assist a utility with a risk management decision. Specifically, the utility was considering whether they should maintain or decommission an 800,000 gallon propane storage sphere. The 30-year old sphere was the fuel storage vessel for a peak-shaving power...

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