On October 12th, 2022, OSHA held a virtual informal stakeholder meeting to give the public a chance to provide testimony regarding several potential changes and provisions to the current Process Safety Management (PSM) Standard (29 CFR 1910.119). Potential changes could include: Clarifying the exemption for atmospheric storage tanks; Expanding the scope to include oil- and…
It is easy to fixate on production goals and become complacent towards everyday hazards in a process unit. Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs) present a unique opportunity for teams of operators and engineers to sit down, think critically about their process, and identify hazards that may need additional measures to mitigate the operational risks to personnel.…
When the dust settles after completion of a facility’s relief system design revalidation, the difficult task of mitigating any identified deficiencies begins. The question inevitably arises as to which deficiencies to address first, and if your facility has recently undergone a unit wide or facility wide relief system revalidation, you may be wondering how to…
Some time ago, a client had a heat and material balance that they wanted recreated and scaled, but the only documentation the client had in regards to process chemistry was a set of PFDs with stream tables. Based on the flow rates and compositions on the page (what was appearing and disappearing), I had to…
Maintaining the integrity of the relief system design basis for a PSM covered facility is no easy task. Especially when a single facility, such as a refinery or chemical plant, can contain thousands of relief devices. However, as the old saying goes, “there’s more than one way to skin a cat”. Our clients have chosen…
A few years ago, I was having dinner with a colleague after completing a HAZOP for a client. As we discussed the PHA, the topic of safety culture came up. What are the hallmarks of a good safety culture, how have we been seeing it wax and wane among clients, and how have we experienced…
For the past many Springs, I have taught a Process Safety class at Rice University. I thoroughly enjoy imparting knowledge of my craft. I am also inspired every year by the promise of the students as they march towards the end of their undergraduate careers. One of the questions I get asked a lot by…
1. What Mechanical Integrity program improvements will deliver integrity and reliability performance? Visualization and Digital Twins:For me personally, visualization is critical to enhancing any program. Whether I am looking at a spreadsheet, an inspection report, an engineering specification sheet or U1A, visualization of a digital twin helps me visualize the equipment and its degradation locations.…
I recently finished the book Riding Rockets by Mike Mullane. The book is a memoir of the author’s time as an astronaut at NASA during the heyday of the Space Shuttle Program. With the recent 35th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, I could not help but reflect on some of the insights from the book.…
Alright; stop, grab a seat, and listen… It was COLD in Texas. REALLY cold. However, with simple planning for reliability, Texans could have possibly prevented multiple pipe-freezing failures that are continuing to plague many as we thaw out from Winter Storm Uri. Hopefully, my story and observations of our collective pipe-freezing situation will remind us…
