- Email: [email protected]
Process safety in the laboratory?
Process safety in the laboratory? Process Safety
I
n February 2012, an interesting incident investigation was shared on DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the Division of Chemical Health and Safety of ACS.1 A pressurized bomb calorimeter failed during an experiment in a university laboratory, propelling part of the calorimeter to the laboratory ceiling, breaking a mercury thermometer, spraying water around the laboratory, and breaking the calorimeter into a number of fragments. Fortunately nobody was hurt. The investigation found that the calorimeter bomb had failed at its exhaust valve. Recommendations included periodic inspection and refurbishment of bomb vessels as recommended by the manufacturer, and a review of similar equipment in the department and throughout the campus for maintenance status. When I read this investigation report, I immediately thought of how some of the critical elements of process safety management also apply in a laboratory environment. Here are some specific examples. Process knowledge management. Process safety knowledge includes information about the chemistry and process technology, but it also includes information about equipment. For example, you need to have information about the design basis of your equipment, including materials of construction, codes and standards used for the design, and manufacturer/designer recommendations for maintenance and inspection to ensure ongoing integrity. There also must be information about the design limits for operation of the equipment, which might include physical parameters such as temperature and pressure, and also chemical concerns, perhaps related to corrosion or interaction with components such as seals and gaskets. Also, this information has to be stored in a logical system so people can find it and use it. And, people have to know when they need to go looking for the information! Operational readiness. How do you know that equipment is ready for use before you put it into service? Do the procedures include checklists of safety critical inspections before using equipment? Do these checklists include ensuring that equipment has been inspected and maintained as 1
http://ucih.ucdavis.edu/docs/ll_CalorimeterFailure.pdf (accessed 29 February 2012).
1871-5532/$36.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jchas.2012.03.002
required? Do they include checking that all critical safety devices are in place and working properly? Asset integrity and reliability. This element is intended to ensure that all equipment is properly designed and installed, and that it remains ‘‘fit for use’’ until taken out of service. It includes inspection, functional testing, preventive maintenance, and end-of-life replacement. For equipment purchased from an outside supplier, the vendor should be able to provide appropriate maintenance and inspection recommendations, and this is part of the process safety information. For equipment that you design and fabricate, you need to develop this information for future users of the equipment. Asset integrity and reliability is broader than just being sure that vessels and pipes are properly inspected and maintained. It includes the functional integrity of all critical safety systems, including safety interlocks and alarms, and protective devices such as rupture disks and relief valves. How do you know they work? If the operation is under control and there are no hazardous excursions, safety systems are never called upon to function. So they may sit there, inactive, for a long time without ever being exercised. They get dirty, corroded, or fail in other ways. The only way to know that they work is to test them on some appropriate schedule, depending on the system and service. In general, if a safety system is important enough to install, it is important enough to test. If you are not going to test and maintain it, you should not install it! Eventually it will fail, it would not work when you need it, and its presence gives a false sense of security. Also, do not forget to document the testing, and the results of the tests. If it is not documented, or if you cannot find the documentation, you cannot assume that the tests have been done. I am sure that other elements of process safety also have value in a laboratory environment. The CCPS Guidelines for Risk Based Process Safety2 identifies 20 critical elements of a process safety management program, divided into 4 major categories:
2
Guidelines for Risk Based Process Safety. American Institute of Chemical Engineers, New York, and John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ (2007).
ß Division of Chemical Health and Safety of the American Chemical Society Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
39
1. Commit to process safety a. Process safety culture b. Compliance with standards c. Process safety competency d. Workforce involvement e. Stakeholder outreach 2. Understand hazards and risk a. Process knowledge management b. Hazard identification and risk analysis 3. Manage risk a. Operating procedures b. Safe work practices
40
c. Asset integrity and reliability d. Contractor management e. Training and performance assurance f. Management of change g. Operational readiness h. Conduct of operations i. Emergency management 4. Learn from Experience a. Incident investigation b. Measurement and metrics c. Auditing d. Management review and continuous improvement
You could write a book on each of these elements, and most of those books have been written – in many cases several books. Ultimately, the same basic principles apply to any operations involving hazardous materials or energy, on any scale or in any operational environment. The elements of risk based process safety are a good list of things to consider in the development of any kind of a safety program.
Journal of Chemical Health & Safety, May/June 2012
I
n February 2012, an interesting incident investigation was shared on DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the Division of Chemical Health and Safety of ACS.1 A pressurized bomb calorimeter failed during an experiment in a university laboratory, propelling part of the calorimeter to the laboratory ceiling, breaking a mercury thermometer, spraying water around the laboratory, and breaking the calorimeter into a number of fragments. Fortunately nobody was hurt. The investigation found that the calorimeter bomb had failed at its exhaust valve. Recommendations included periodic inspection and refurbishment of bomb vessels as recommended by the manufacturer, and a review of similar equipment in the department and throughout the campus for maintenance status. When I read this investigation report, I immediately thought of how some of the critical elements of process safety management also apply in a laboratory environment. Here are some specific examples. Process knowledge management. Process safety knowledge includes information about the chemistry and process technology, but it also includes information about equipment. For example, you need to have information about the design basis of your equipment, including materials of construction, codes and standards used for the design, and manufacturer/designer recommendations for maintenance and inspection to ensure ongoing integrity. There also must be information about the design limits for operation of the equipment, which might include physical parameters such as temperature and pressure, and also chemical concerns, perhaps related to corrosion or interaction with components such as seals and gaskets. Also, this information has to be stored in a logical system so people can find it and use it. And, people have to know when they need to go looking for the information! Operational readiness. How do you know that equipment is ready for use before you put it into service? Do the procedures include checklists of safety critical inspections before using equipment? Do these checklists include ensuring that equipment has been inspected and maintained as 1
http://ucih.ucdavis.edu/docs/ll_CalorimeterFailure.pdf (accessed 29 February 2012).
1871-5532/$36.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jchas.2012.03.002
required? Do they include checking that all critical safety devices are in place and working properly? Asset integrity and reliability. This element is intended to ensure that all equipment is properly designed and installed, and that it remains ‘‘fit for use’’ until taken out of service. It includes inspection, functional testing, preventive maintenance, and end-of-life replacement. For equipment purchased from an outside supplier, the vendor should be able to provide appropriate maintenance and inspection recommendations, and this is part of the process safety information. For equipment that you design and fabricate, you need to develop this information for future users of the equipment. Asset integrity and reliability is broader than just being sure that vessels and pipes are properly inspected and maintained. It includes the functional integrity of all critical safety systems, including safety interlocks and alarms, and protective devices such as rupture disks and relief valves. How do you know they work? If the operation is under control and there are no hazardous excursions, safety systems are never called upon to function. So they may sit there, inactive, for a long time without ever being exercised. They get dirty, corroded, or fail in other ways. The only way to know that they work is to test them on some appropriate schedule, depending on the system and service. In general, if a safety system is important enough to install, it is important enough to test. If you are not going to test and maintain it, you should not install it! Eventually it will fail, it would not work when you need it, and its presence gives a false sense of security. Also, do not forget to document the testing, and the results of the tests. If it is not documented, or if you cannot find the documentation, you cannot assume that the tests have been done. I am sure that other elements of process safety also have value in a laboratory environment. The CCPS Guidelines for Risk Based Process Safety2 identifies 20 critical elements of a process safety management program, divided into 4 major categories:
2
Guidelines for Risk Based Process Safety. American Institute of Chemical Engineers, New York, and John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ (2007).
ß Division of Chemical Health and Safety of the American Chemical Society Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
39
1. Commit to process safety a. Process safety culture b. Compliance with standards c. Process safety competency d. Workforce involvement e. Stakeholder outreach 2. Understand hazards and risk a. Process knowledge management b. Hazard identification and risk analysis 3. Manage risk a. Operating procedures b. Safe work practices
40
c. Asset integrity and reliability d. Contractor management e. Training and performance assurance f. Management of change g. Operational readiness h. Conduct of operations i. Emergency management 4. Learn from Experience a. Incident investigation b. Measurement and metrics c. Auditing d. Management review and continuous improvement
You could write a book on each of these elements, and most of those books have been written – in many cases several books. Ultimately, the same basic principles apply to any operations involving hazardous materials or energy, on any scale or in any operational environment. The elements of risk based process safety are a good list of things to consider in the development of any kind of a safety program.
Journal of Chemical Health & Safety, May/June 2012