Process and Plant

Safety Hazards

Ching, Warren
Cu, Joshua
Javier, Mike
So, Jonathan
Uy, Jeckson
Introduction
Process and Plant Safety Hazards
Process and Plant Safety
Hazards
 Involves the application of scientific,
engineering, and management principles.

 Aimed in the identification, characterization

and contol of process and plant hazards.

 To prevent injuries and incidents that can

cause harm to employees or the public.
Professional Organizations
Involved
 American Society of Safety Engineers.
 National Safety Council.
What do they do?
 These professional organization consider the
safety, health and welfare of workers and the
public.
 Whenever safety, health and welfare are in
question.
 They have an obligation to advise employers
or appropriate authorities
Center for Chemical Process
Safety (CCPS)
 By the American Institute of Chemical
Engineers
 Established in 1985
 Develop and disseminate technical
information.
 Prevention of major chemical accidents.
Chemical safety management
 FYI: Chemical industry has fairly low accident
rate compared to other industry.
 Risk can be further reduce to protect
employees and general public.
 Requires integrated approach.
Table 10-1 An integrated
approach…
 Goals and Objectives of the safety program
 Risk Analysis and Management
 Industrial process design and operation
 Mechanical integrity of process equipment
 Safety Regulations, Codes and Standards
 Project Safety and Health Review
 Hazard Evaluation of process design and operation
 Personnel Motivation and Training
 Process and Plant Modification and Change
 Incident Investigation and Safety audits
Goals and Objectives of the
Safety Program.
Most Important Goal of Process and Plant
Design
 Safe Development
 Design
 Construction
 Start-up
 Operation of the plant
Examples of Major Industrial
Accidents
 Occurred with Union Carbide in Bhopal, India
 December 3, 1984 , methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked.
 Philips Petroleum Company in Houston, Texas
 On Oct. 23, 1989, about 40 tons of flammable vapor were
accidentally released and ignited.
 ARCO in Channelview, Texas
 A deadly blast ripped through the Channelview, Texas
ARCO Chemical Co. plant on July 5, 1990, killing 17 non-
unionized workers and transforming a 564 acre
petrochemical complex into a heap of mangled, charred
metal.
Safety Risk Reduced to Lowest
Practical Level
 Through a clear understanding of the:
 Process Design
 Operation
 Mechanical
 Integrity of Equipment
For the EMPLOYERS
 Made aware of :
 Safety Regulations
 Codes
 Standards

This should never be knowingly violated

in the design
and operation of the facility.
Management of projects
 Should include a safety and health review.

 Hazard evaluation of process and plant

design.

 Adequate training to personnel involved in

development, design, construction and
operation of the facility.
Management of projects
 Proper motivation for the personnel
mentioned in order to accomplish safety
goals of the safety program.

 Reassessment of all process and plant

modifications, future changes in design and
operation of the facility.
Management of projects
 Any incident involving the process or plant
should cause immediate concern and result
in thorough, objective critique and
investigation to determine the cause of the
incident.
 Near miss accident should also be
investigated to determine cause.
 Periodical safety audit by experienced,
qualified team.
Management of projects
 Dedicate sufficient resources to reduce risk of
hazards.
 Personnel
 Equipment
 Time
 Money
Benefits of Safety
 Adds to capital expenditures required and the
operating costs BUT in the long term return
on this short-term investment.

 Improved on-stream factors and Product

Quality

 Better Product Availability for the marketplace

Benefits of Safety
 Lower insurance costs

 Higher Morale of personnel

 More objective project evaluation

 Improved public and personnel relations.

Reminder

Under no circumstances should the safety

function of an organization report to
production, marketing, or other line business
functions that might have conflicting goals.
Reminder

Safety Personnel must communicate with the

entire organization to promote safety
awareness and knowledge.
Steps

 Identify first the risk

 Identify those alternative actions that can be

used
Risk analysis and
Management
1. Starts with hazard identification
- check the material safety datasheets

 Delphi Method
- ranks the hazards according to their
probable occurrence and severity.
Risk analysis and
Management
1. All practical steps should be made to
reduce both the probability and severity of
the risk

 By integrating risk management in the

process and plant design, risk can be
managed in a practical and effective
manner
Industrial process design and
operation
 A desirable process and plant safety program
starts with a well conceived process and
plant design

 Material datasheets should be reviewed to

identify hazards each chemical represents
and the methods to control it
Data and Information for chemical hazard
assessment
Name and chemical composition

Regulatory requirements

Physical and chemical property data

Fire and explosion data

Reactivity data

Health information

Spill, leak, and disposal procedures

Special protective equipment and precautions

Information Gathering
 Process Chemistry
 conversion from raw materials to desirable
products
 can create or reduce hazards in the process and
plant design
Process chemistry in process and plant
designand catalysts
Chemical raw materials

Chemical reactions and kinetic data

Process operating parameters and ranges

Preliminary process flow diagram

Material, product, and waste inventories

Technology information for process and
plant design
Process, by-products and wastes produced
Process technology to be used
Plant capacity
Process flow diagrams
Process operating variables
Selection of the plant site
Hazard identification and safety control
Waste identification and safety control
Process control techniques
Equipment specifications
Government permit requirements
Piping and instrumentation diagrams
Operational information for process and plant
design
Construction timetable
Inspection and testing of equipment and instrumentation
Personnel and training requirements
Startup and troubleshooting of potential problems
Debottlenecking opportunities
Operations, maintenance, and emergency procedures
Procedures for upset operating conditions
Procedures for safety and environmental audits
Information Gathering
 Piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID)
 A diagram which shows the interconnection of
process equipment and the instrumentation used
to control the process.
Sample P&ID

Water Heater Facility

Plant Operation
 Normal plant operation
 operating within desirable operating ranges

 Significant deviation from the normal operation

would result to an upset condition
Safety equipment and systems for process and
plant design
Fire protection

Gas and vapor detection

Alarm and interlock

Pressure relief and vent

Isolation of equipment and plant

Emergency relief and vent

Emergency and backup services

Plant Operation
Critical:
 control deviations
 restore upset conditions to normal operation

* In start-up period major deviations from

normal operations may be expected
Plant Operation
 Successful start-up periods are enhanced by
training of operators and process design that
anticipated start-up problems before they occur.

 During the shutdown phase, deviation outside

normal operation can also be expected.

 A smooth shutdown greatly assist a successful start-

up.
Mechanical Integrity of Process
Equipment
 Design, fabrication, installation, and
maintenance affect safety
 Specified construction materials should be
used in fabrication and maintenance
 All equipment used in the operating facility
should be fabricated in accordance with
design specifications
Mechanical Integrity of Process
Equipment
 When design specifications are
compromised, probability of accident is
increased
 Inspect, verify and test to confirm reliability
 Perform testing prior to start-up and
periodically thereafter
 Place procedures where hazardous materials
are involved
Mechanical Integrity of Process
Equipment
 During maintenance operations, facility is
vulnerable to the creation of a hazardous
conditions
 Design considerations should be given for
different kinds of work during operation
 Safety relief devices
Process Hazard Analysis
 Hazard analysis is a study to identify,
analyze, and evaluate the risk of hazards
associated with a process or operating facility
 Used to identify limitations in siting, design,
layout, and operation of facilities
 Improve the safety and management of risk
at operating facilities
Process Hazard Analysis
 OSHA
 US Environmental Protection Agency
 US Department of Transportation
 Have promulgated regulations concerning
safety and health hazards
 These regulations addresses the probability,
severity, and consequences
Process Hazard Analysis
 Severity – What can go wrong? How bad can
it get?
 Probability – How likely is it to occur?
 Consequences – What are the impact?
Consequences of Hazard
Identification
Material Safety Data Sheets
 Laboratory experiments

 Research and Development

HAZARD ANALYSIS
TECHNIQUES
 Hazard analysis are used to determine
the potential for deviations from or
weaknesses in the system design that
could pose a hazard to personnel
and/or equipment.
Hazard Analysis

 Hazard Analysis should identify risks,

methods to reduce risk, and any actions
needed to ensure that the equipment
can be operated and maintained safely.
Hazard Analysis Techniques

 What-if
 Check list
 What-if/Check list
 Hazard and operability study (HAZOP)
 Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA)
 Fault tree analysis
 Appropriate equivalent methodology
What-if
 brainstorming techniques, in the form of ‘What If’
questions are used to identify possible deviations
and weaknesses in design.
 ‘What If’ hazard analyses can be used to determine
system compliance with SEMI S2 requirements to
verify that “no single point of failure or operational
error should allow immediate exposure of personnel,
facilities or community to hazards or directly result in
injury, death or equipment loss.”
What is SEMI S2 Requirements?

 Safety Guidelines for Semiconductor

Manufacturing Equipment
 defines minimum performance-based safety
requirements that address a number of
hazards, including chemical, electrical, fire
safety, sound, radiation, mechanical, and
seismic.
What-if
 Caution: ‘What If’ hazard analyses are based on
brainstorming. Their thoroughness and accuracy are
dependent upon the composition and expertise of
the team performing the analysis. In addition, the
‘What If’ hazard analyses stops at a single point of
failure and does not investigate the system further.
(i.e., This method would not evaluate a series of
failures and the potential consequence of this
series.)
What if (example)

What if Consequence Comments

Material A does Unreacted B will Alarm and shot
not flow to contaminate off valve B
reactor? Product C
What if Equipment Off the
equipment failure. equipment and
temperature Meltdown of increase the
exceeds its limit? components. cooling system.
Checklist Analysis

 It is used for step of the process.

 Time consuming in development
 Can be apply also to complex processes with
similar hazards.
 Also like what-if in development
Example of checklist

Checklist Answer Comments

Is each delivery of Yes Supplier of material B
material B checked has been reliable.
for contamination?

Is the particle count No The room can be use

in the room exceeds on process.
3ppm^3
Combined what-if and
checklist
 More broad-based hazard assessment
technique.
 Involve brainstorming also
Hazard and Operability
analysis
 (HAZOP)
 Systematic study of each process element
and requires thorough examination of
process-flow diagrams.
 Pant operation => improved plant efficiency
 Uses guide words
Failure Mode and Effect Analysis

 (FMEA)
 Begins of all listing the Equipments and
process components of the system under
study
 More applicable to projects that are well into
design phase.
 Contains failure mode, consequences,
safeguards, recommended action
Fault Tree Analysis

 Begins with graphical diagrams of all

sequence of events that could result on
incidents, accidents, or exposure.
 Uses logic symbols and event symbols
Fault tree analysis symbols

TOP
Transfer IN-OUT OR GATE AND GATE
EVENT

BASIC UNDEVELOPED
EVENT EVENT
Fault Tree Analysis Example
SYSTEM
FAILS

C D

A B
Personnel Motivation and
Training
 Operations and Maintenance Personnel
needs training
 Highly trained and skilled personnel are
excellent resource for improving safety and
productivity.
 Outside contractors are also to be considered
 Well-conceived process control system
should reflect a balance between:

 Human Control
 Reflects human capability at a particular time when the
response is required

 Hardware Control
 Reflects upon the hardware design and mechanical
integrity at a particular point of demand
Human Errors
 Errors of Omission
 Employee forgot to execute a required task
 Errors of Commission
 Employee Performed the task but did it incorrectly
 Errors of Sequence
 Employee did the task out of order with the required
sequence
 Errors of Timing
 Employee did the task either too fast or slow
 Operator-Induced Error
 Employee has the knowledge to make the correct
decision but acts incorrectly
 System-Induced Error
 Created by integration of incompatible
components into a total system
 Design-Induced Error
 Results from faulty equipment design, fabrication
or installation
 Input Errors
 Caused by typographical errors associated with
data or information
 Low Stress Errors
 Cause by a lapse of memory during a normal
environmental condition
 High Stress Errors
 When employees make wrong decisions in
life-threatening situations
Process and Plant Modification
Change
 It should not result in errors that could lead to
accidents

 Safety program at the operating facility

should have procedures to manage
modifications

 Hazard Analysis should be performed

Incident Investigation and Safety
Audits
 Near-miss Incidents should be studied

 Safety Audits are used to verify compliance

with regulatory standards
 Used to protect the safety and health of the
employees, surrounding communities and
environment
Safety Audits
 Review of Relevant Documentation
 Review of Process Safety Information
 Inspection of Operating Facilities
 Interviews with selected plant personnel