56th Annual Loss Prevention Symposium (LPS)
The Loss Prevention Symposium (LPS) is one of several parallel symposia that comprise the Global Congress on Process Safety (GCPS). The purpose of the LPS conference is to present technological advances in process safety, explosion prevention, fire protection and lessons learned from incident investigations. LPS focuses on process safety technology – new developments, cutting-edge solutions, and innovative/novel approaches to hazard identification and risk assessment/management.
18th GCPS Conference Program - Draft
Encouraged Topics for this conference include, but not limited to:
- Fires, Explosions, Combustible Dust, and Chemical Reactivity
- Facility Siting, Consequence Analysis, and Risk Assessment
- Traditional Energy Infrastructure Safety
- Alternative Energy Infrastructure Safety
- Engineered Safety System and Mitigation Technologies
- Cybersecurity
- Emergency Planning and Response
- GCPS LNG Safety
- Case Histories
LPS Chair & Vice Chair:
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Henry Dwight & Irfan Shaikh, LPS_chair@aiche.org
Session Topic Descriptions:
Fires, Explosions, Combustible Dust, and Chemical Reactivity
The analysis, prevention, protection, and mitigation of fires, explosions, and chemical reactivity hazards has always been important to the loss prevention community. This year the session has been expanded to include explosions caused by combustible dust as well as hydrocarbons and other hazardous materials. Dust explosion safety continues to be an area of interest and development for loss prevention professionals. This technical session invites papers on these process hazards, with a specific focus on new data, novel or cutting-edge approaches related to hazards identification and/or characterization, hazards assessment, and the development of safe designs and/or operational practices to manage the hazards.
Facility Siting, Consequence Analysis, and Risk Assessment
Consequence modeling, quantitative risk assessment techniques, and facility siting analyses are key tools applied by loss prevention professionals to understand and manage risk. Applications for these methodologies include capital projects, on-shore and off-shore facilities, pipelines, transportation, community impact, and emergency response. This session seeks papers describing recent advances and novel approaches to facility siting, consequence analysis, and quantitative risk analysis, as well as the integration and application of these tools and techniques into corporate risk assessment. Papers discussing best practices, case studies, and lessons learned are encouraged.
Combustible Dust Hazards and Their Mitigation
Dust explosion safety continues to be an area of interest and development for loss prevention professionals. This session is seeking papers presenting new data on dust hazards and their mitigation, including the development of new dust explosion prevention and protection techniques and standards
Traditional Energy Infrastructure Safety
Liquid fuels, gaseous fuels, liquefied gaseous fuels, and electricity have historically served as the primary energy sources for society. This session aims to present new developments in safety technology or an understanding of the hazards posed by the traditional energy infrastructure. Topics may include technical aspects of infrastructure safety such as trucking and rail transportation; fueling, loading, and unloading stations; transmission and distribution pipelines; and electrical power generation and distribution.
Alternative Energy Infrastructure Safety
Many enterprises are jumping onto the World’s march towards a lower carbon energy future with a wide range of potential solutions that include: Hydrogen and Hydrogen Carriers; Battery technology and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS); and renewable fuels, lower carbon utilities (solar, wind), geothermal, and Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS). Each potential solution will require a combination of existing and/or completely new infrastructure, which comes with a range of known hazards in different environments. As the world moves towards a lower carbon future, it is critical that risks of potential solutions and required infrastructure are identified, evaluated, and properly managed. We are looking for papers that discuss the safety challenges that must be identified, understood, and managed in the rapidly adapting energy landscape.
Engineered Safety System and Mitigation Technologies
Engineered systems are implemented to maintain safe operations and prevent adverse outcomes. Engineered safety systems and other mitigation technologies are diverse in their nature and function and may include mechanical pressure relief systems, automated response systems, or execution of operating procedures, or passive mitigation such as drain systems or fire protection. There are two critical aspects of managing engineered safeguards: establishing safeguards based on the relationship between hazard and its prevention or mitigation which may include design and sizing requirements, and sustaining and assuring safeguards which may include the reliability of performance and maintenance requirements. This session invites speakers to share their knowledge on safeguard stewardship, new applications, best practices, case studies, and lessons learned.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity threats are an increasing concern for the chemical process industry, and it is vitally important to address this growing threat in order to protect the technology critical to the safe operations of chemical facilities. This session will feature technical papers covering cybersecurity concepts, current and future industry standards, cybersecurity hazard identification, and risk assessment/management methods, ongoing research and experimentation, industrial case studies, and approaches to building cyber-resiliency into chemical processing operations. Of special interest is the security of threats to automated safeguards for high-risk scenarios, and new technologies such as wearables, drones, robotics, mobile devices, and the use of artificial intelligence in loss prevention.
Emergency Planning and Response
Effective Emergency Response Planning limits the impact to personnel, environment, assets, and business continuity. Emergencies can include everything from process safety events and extreme weather such as floods and earthquakes, etc. to sabotage, and hazardous events from neighboring facilities (fire, explosions, toxic releases, etc.). Most Emergency Response Plans are based upon a “credible” scenario, but as some of these “incredible” events occur, they become “credible”. Are your plans updated? Emergency response planning starts well before an emergency occurs as some plans may involve prediction, consequence modelling, and mitigation of consequences through inherently safer design considerations, layers of protection, internal and external communications, mustering, evacuation routes, and provisions as well as ways stakeholder engagement in response planning. Topics of interest include any of those mentioned here.
This session is intended to gather papers related to LNG safety regulations, simulations, experiments, materials, and equipment utilized for LNG plant safety and protection. Topics on vapor dispersion exclusion zones, service life of materials at cryogenic conditions, modeling for LNG plant protection, etc. are of special interest.
GCPS Joint Session: Case Histories
Reviews of process safety incidents provide valuable learning opportunities. This session invites papers to help understand the causes and lessons learned from incidents in the industry with an emphasis on events that have helped define and develop the process safety field over the years.
