Chemical Process Safety (PSM/RMP)

OSH ACT of 1970 SECTION (5)(a)(1):  The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to struck-by hazards: The employer did not establish, communicate, and implement safe work…...

This video is from 2013, but I thought they did such an excellent job explaining 1234yf and how we went from 134a to this new refrigerant I should share it for context.  I have been very hard on the suppliers of this new Low GWP refrigerant over the years and this video sums up the…...

At approximately 7:00 p.m. on November 15, 2006, Employee #1 was a process operator at the Chlorine Liquefaction Unit, Block A-19. He was preparing to bleed off chlorine on a process line, to clear the line for maintenance work. The valve handle indicated that it was in a CLOSED position. Employee #1 opened the cap to…...

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on March 2, 2011, six workers were employed as milling or planing machine operators at a corn and flour milling facility in Lincoln, NE. A chlorine leak was detected in the chlorine room, so the milling superintendent and a miller/operator entered the chlorine storage room and closed a manual valve on…...

On October 4, 2005, Employee #1 was working as a refrigeration mechanic. An ammonia system valve in freezer Number 7 was being turned, when the bonnet came loose with the wheel, releasing approximately 100 to 200 lbs of ammonia. Employee #1 was 35 feet up without fall protection, and he had to slide down racking…...

As I have written about numerous times… PRESSURE TESTING a process is not only a “good idea” – it is REQUIRED for those of us in the process safety world. It is a critical path in process safety, ensuring our “primary containment” system (e.g. piping) was installed properly and can withstand process pressures. But with…...

On May 31, 2012, Employees #1 through #6 were working when an evaporator that had been deactivated was mistakenly activated by a worker.  Approximately 68.5 pounds (31 kilograms) of ammonia were released on an overhead catwalk. Employees #1 through #6 inhaled the fumes, and they were transported to a hospital. Employee #1 was not hospitalized,…...

At 4:00 p.m. on January 5, 2018, Employee #1, employed by an industrial cleaning company, was working at a multiemployer project. He was working from an 8-foot stepladder. He was 2 feet above the ground and monitoring and adding water as necessary to evaporator pans to prevent freezing. The float system on the evaporator failed,…...

Many thanks to Luke Dam, CEO of Safety Wise, for having some fun and making these SAFTENG videos.  If you’re looking for a great incident investigation tool be sure to check out Luke’s company… they are worldwide and they make root cause analysis easy (something many struggle with).    … Membership Required You must be...

ABSOLUTELY!  One of my engineering managers early in my career was the founder of the “engineering geek squad” and was an absolute stickler for details when it came to technical matters.  He always told me I was driving him to the insane asylum with my improper interchangeable use of the terms “vapor” and “gas” when…...