Elements of Process Safety

The benefits of using bow-tie diagrams for risk management have been realized by organizations world-wide. They provide a readily understandable visualization of the relationships between the causes of business upsets, the escalation of such event to a range of possible outcomes, the controls...

A method for adjusting spring operated pressure relief valve (SORV) inspection intervals is presented based on hazard identification, financial risk assessment, fluid service, and comparison of the life-cycle testing costs. Intuitively, longer intervals between maintenance and proof testing should...

This paper describes the experience, learning and major challenges in implementing Process Safety Management at Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) India. The Reliance Group, founded by Dhirubhai H. Ambani (1932-2002), is India's largest private sector enterprise, with businesses in the energy and...

A Cabot team used the ISA 84-2004 (IEC61511-1) standard to evaluate the Safety Instrumented System (SIS) for an existing fumed silica burner and made design changes to reduce the risk. Years prior to this initiative, the layers of protection review used was subjective and resulted in assigning...

Many companies have made great strides in change management systems since OSHA's Process Safety Management Standard 29 CFR 1910.119 was first promulgated in 1992. This standard required “implementation of written procedures to manage changes… that affect a covered process”i. Although significant...

In recent years Process Safety Engineers have promoted the use of HAZOP to identify hazards and assess safeguards, followed by LOPA to identify if additional protection layers are necessary and, if they are to be provided using safety instrumented functions, how reliable the SIFs need to be...

The Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) has designated MOC as one of the areas where metrics need to be developed. One of the issues that CCPS is concerned about is the quality of the MOCs as much as the quantity of those that have not been completed. One of the reasons is that people tend to...

Thermal stability of a chemical mixture or pure material can be evaluated using adiabatic calorimetry. Several calorimetry testing instruments and techniques will be used and compared for a comprehensive evaluation. Results from these tests can be used to determine kinetic parameters which can be...

Chlorinated hydrocarbons represent the precursors for products ranging from PVC and refrigerants to pharmaceuticals. Natural or manmade disruptions that affect the availability of these products nationally have the potential to affect a wide range of markets, from healthcare to construction. Sandia...

Recurring or chronic performance problems over time within any process safety management system at a site or within a corporate structure can introduce additional unintended risks, generate internal and external compliance issues, and impede continuous improvement. Ineffective management of changes...