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Elements of Process Safety

The four pillars and the twenty elements of risk based process safety can be designed and implemented at varying levels of rigor to optimize process safety management, performance, efficiency, and effectiveness.

It's People, Stupid! Human Factors In Incident Investigation

Mar 14, 2011
Mike Broadribb
People have inherent strengths and weaknesses which can affect their performance. Issues such as fatigue, emotional stress, and motivation can adversely affect performance. Their performance is also influenced by factors external to the individual, such as poor equipment design, inadequate training...

Can Functional Testing Be Replaced by Inspection After Demands?

Mar 14, 2011
Hui Jin
Safety instrumented systems are used to reduce the risk of major accidents in the process industry. To claim a certain risk reduction from such systems, it is necessary to perform reliability analyses, within internationally accepted frameworks, such as the IEC 61511. The main factors that...

CFD Modeling Applications to Hydrogen Vehicle Explosion Safety Studies

Mar 14, 2011
Filippo Gavelli
The introduction of alternate fuel vehicles leads to new safety challenges. This is particularly relevant in the case of hydrogen vehicles, as flammable mixtures of hydrogen and air can be very dangerous. Potential hazard scenarios include gaseous or liquid hydrogen leaks, accumulation and ignition...

Effect of Physical Properties of Particulates on Fires and Dust Explosions

Mar 14, 2011
Konanur Manjunath
There has been a dramatic approach in the way we are implementing process safety guidelines and standards for combustible. This is particularly true for North America where there have been devastating dust explosions occurring for the last 10 years or so. Following this, OSHA has initiated NEP,...

Analysis of Independent Protection Layers Used In Three Typical Chemical Processes

Mar 14, 2011
Herb W. H. Meyer
Independent protection layers (IPLs) used to mitigate most severe consequences are analyzed for three chemical processes: Olefins, Low-density Polyethylene, and an intermediates chemical plant. The IPLs are categorized by type (i.e., interlocks, PSVs, independent alarms, etc.), by function (...

Ignition of Dust Layers by Mechanical Sparks

Mar 14, 2011
Kees Van Wingerden
Dust explosions represent a considerable safety risk in process industry. Statistical records of dust explosions show that 32.7 % of these explosions are initiated by mechanical sparks or hot surfaces due to mechanical friction [1]. Laboratory investigations however show that direct ignition of...

An Analysis of CSB Investigation Reports for Inherent Safety Learnings

Mar 14, 2011
Paul R. Amyotte
The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is an independent, nonregulatory federal organization in the United States dedicated to investigating serious accidents in the chemical industry. Accidents are investigated by a team of CSB employees and from the evidence collected a list of...

Making Existing Process Plants Inherently Safer

Mar 14, 2011
Victor H. Edwards
Making process plants inherently safer has obvious advantages and is easiest to do when designing a new plant. Modification of existing plants to make them inherently safer can often be much more difficult and costly, including any costs due to lost production. However, an inherently safer design...

A Key Factor In Hazardous Processes: Safety Culture

Mar 14, 2011
Charles A. Soczek
The significance of Safety Culture is becoming increasingly recognized as a key factor to achieve the safe operation of hazardous processes. This paper describes the four stages that manufacturing companies go through in their journey to a world class safety culture and applies this concept to...

Best Practice for An Evergreening Pressure Relief Systems Management Program

Mar 14, 2011
Nitin Talreja
Most oil and gas refining and petrochemical organizations have a Process Safety Management (PSM) program that stems from the requirements outlined under OSHA's 29 CFR 1910.119. Some have a very extensive program that covers most of the 14 elements of PSM and is managed via an integrated platform...

Guidelines for Identifying and Mitigating Thermal Hazards of Sustainable Materials

Mar 14, 2011
Delmar R. Morrison
Sustainable materials and technologies (a.k.a. ?Green?) are those that are ?delivered with progressively less negative impact upon the Earth.? Thermal hazards such as self-heating, thermal runaway, fires, and explosions may be associated with a particular sustainable material or process technology...

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