The Safety Professional’S Role: In Support of Industrial Facilities Operations and Maintenance (O&M)

By Edward Tokarski

The Safety Professionals Role: In Support of Industrial Facilities Operations and Maintenance (O&M) discusses how the safety professional, in direct support of a manager (or management group) of an industrial facility, can provide the advice and support needed to control hazards, minimize risk and maximize workplace safety at these inherently dangerous locations and during potentially dangerous operations.

Chemical processing, in one form or another, serves as the engine of a global economy. Raw materials, whether extracted by drilling and mining, grown and cultivated in crops, or recovered from reusable materials, must be refined and processed into useful bulk materials and chemicals. These processes usually involve work around or with chemicals that possess hazardous qualities such as flammability, explosiveness, toxicity, or reactivity. These refined materials and bulk chemicals are then delivered to in the next stage of manufacture where they are used responsibly to produce the goods and products that make modern day living more comfortable and enjoyable. It is this process of chemical refinement and safe use and handling of these chemicals in manufacturing that is explored in this text, particularly the practice of assessing and controlling the risk associated with the industrial use of these highly hazardous chemicals (HHCs). You may know this policy and practice as Process Safety Management.

Work with HHCs clearly increases the risks and hazards at the job site where they are being stored, used and processed. Facility managers responsible for managing the complexities of Maintenance and Operations (O&M) associated with industrial facilities, turn to trained, educated, and experienced safety professionals for reliable safety advice, training and management support. Industrial Safety professionals, be they General Safety Practitioner, or specialists such as Industrial Hygienist, Environmental Affairs Manager, Hazardous Waste Coordinator, Chemical Hygiene Officer, Project Safety Manager, or Occupational Health Nurse can benefit from the findings and suggestions presented in this text. The Safety Professionals Role: In Support of Industrial Facilities Operations and Maintenance (O&M) essentially serves as a roadmap of recommendations that a Safety Professional, engaged in O&M support, can use to be more responsive to the many needs of his or her process plant.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 30, 2013
• ISBN: 9781493152575

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Copyright © 2013 by Edward Tokarski.

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Rev. date: 02/05/2014

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Contents

Copyright Disclaimer

Preface

Acknowledgements

Abstract

List of Abbreviations and Acronyms

Chapter 1 Introduction

Traditional Safety versus Process Safety

Chapter 2 Disasters and Outcomes

RMP Program 3 Plants

Combustible Dusts

Stepping up Process Safety

RMP Program 1 and 2 Plants

Chapter 3 Survey Discoveries

Chapter 4 Inherently Safer Process Plants

Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practice

The 14 Elements of PSM

OSHA’s Programmed Inspections

EPA’s General Duty Clause

Risk Assessment Tools

Performance Indicators

Chapter 5 Plant Operations and Maintenance

Operational Discipline

Hard and Soft Controls

Alarm Management

Utilities and other Hard Services

Department Organization and Training

Preventive and Corrective Maintenance

Plant Shutdowns

Contractor Safety

Emergency Planning

Chapter 6 Culture of Safety

Management Involvement

Accident Investigation

Chapter 7 Conclusion

APPENDICES

Appendix A Industrial Safety Support Organizations

Appendix B FMEA Chart

Appendix C OSHA Outreach Training in Occupational Safety and Health Standards for eneral Industry…

Appendix D FRP and SPCC Applicability Determination

Works Cited

About the Author

This Research Project Report is written and submitted in support of program requirements pursuant to the Masters of Science in Safety and Occupational Health Applied Science Degree at Keene State College in Keene, NH.

Copyright Disclaimer

Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 102, notice of copyright is hereby claimed by the author for all privately evolved intellectual property contained herein. Any use of the material contained in this Research Project Report, including reproduction in whole or in part, without the author’s express written consent is prohibited. This Research Project Report is on deposit in the Keene State College Mason Library. The author grants the Dean and Assistant Dean of Keene State Mason Library permission to make available single copies of this Research Project Report work, in its entirety or in part, for research and scholarly use.

The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent official positions or philosophies taken by Keene State College, its faculty, staff, or other 3rd party associates.

Preface

The Keene State College (KSC) Masters of Science (M.S.) in Safety and Occupational Health and Applied Science Program is a graduate studies program designed for practicing Occupational Safety and Health professionals to sharpen their skill set and expand their knowledge base in Occupational Safety Management Systems. The Master’s Studies program at Keene State builds on the foundational knowledge and skills acquired by students who have successfully completed the undergraduate degree requirements in Keene State’s Safety Studies program or at other accredited Safety Training program. The KSC M.S. program successfully integrates classroom studies in Safety Management Best Practices and Safety Leadership with the practical experiences and knowledge derived from field situations and OJT in the Safety profession. Students participating in the program learn from the area’s top Safety Practitioners and University Professors. They have the opportunity to ask questions, engage in discussion, and interact directly with instructors and fellow safety professionals, in a supportive academic environment designed to promote learning and enhance professional development. Students earn a Graduate Certificate in Safety and Health Management in route to completing the degree requirements for the M.S. in Safety and Occupational Health Applied Science.

A major element the KSC M.S. studies program is the participation in an approved elective capstone experience. The elective capstone requirement may involve a Graduate Practicum or a Research Project Report Paper and Presentation (SAFE 695 and SAFE 695 respectively, each worth 4 semester hours of credit). Both Capstone Programs are proceeded by a self-directed study option (SAFE 650, itself worth 4 S/H credits) to help the students prepare and define their capstone project. I have elected to participate in the SAFE 650/SAFE 695 Research Capstone Elective path. This paper serves as the central instrument in the completion of this portion of Keene State’s Masters of Science in Safety and Occupational Health and Applied Science Program. A majority of the research involved in preparing this work was carried out from June 2012 to August 2013.

Acknowledgements

I would like to recognize several key mentors, colleagues and family members whose support and encouragement has been invaluable in keeping me focused and on track in my pursuit of Master’s Degree in Occupational Safety. Without their helpful advice and steadfast encouragement, this important personal accomplishment would not have been nearly as satisfying, enriching or enjoyable as it proved over time.

First of all, I wish to thank my Program Advisor and Principle Director of Keene State College’s Safety and Occupational Health Applied Science Graduate Program; Professor Larry McDonald. Dr. McDonald was instrumental in bringing the Graduate Certificate Program in Safety and Health Management to Keene State. In 2006 and 2007, my senior year in the Keene State Safety Studies Undergraduate Program, we had spoken on several occasions of importance and value of establishing a post-baccalaureate path for continuing study in Occupational Safety and Health. In 2008, Dr. McDonald, Dr. David Buck (then the Safety Graduate Program Director), and others in the University of New Hampshire system helped establish the initial offering of the KSC Safety and Health Management Graduate Certificate Program. With Dr. McDonald’s support and encouragement, I was one of the first students to apply to the new program and, in February of 2010, one of the first students to be awarded the new Safety and Health Management Graduate Certificate. My personal and professional development from 2004 (when I first began to pursue a formal education in Safety Studies, graduating in 2007 with a B.S in Safety Studies) to 2010, when I was awarded a Graduate Certificate in Safety and Health Management, Dr. McDonald and the faculty at Keene State took special care to make sure my personal interests and professional pursuits were cultivated and nurtured. Prior to 2004, my professional experience was largely limited to military and manufacturing, serving as a Chief Sonar Technician in the U.S. Navy followed by several years as a Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment Repair Technician. My experiences at Keene State College and the affiliated programs at Region 1 OTIEC during this time from 2004 to 2010 was both professionally rewarding and personally satisfying and helped cement my decision to serve as an occupational safety professional in pursuit of improving worker safety by making the work environment safer. Dr. McDonald was instrumental in affording me the opportunity to change my career path in mid-life and enable me to passionately pursue a new career as a safety professional.

Of equal importance in my career development, success and direction has been Keene State’s principle Safety Studies Graduate Coordinator, Professor David Buck. Dr. Buck has performed a number of critical functions at different stages on my path toward becoming an established Safety Professional. Professor Buck, or Doc as most students call him, has served as my principle mentor and guidance counselor in my pursuit of the Masters Degree. He challenged me to step outside of my comfort zone and explore new areas in Occupational Safety and Health that I had no direct experience in or little in-depth knowledge. In SAFE-650, a self-directed study segment of KSC Graduate Degree Program, Dr. Buck’s direction and advice was invaluable in helping me settle on a topic, pursue research options, and prepare a plan for final Report development. Without his technical guidance and steadfast encouragement, the writing of this Research Project Report would have been much more laborious and outcome not near as substantial or satisfying.

Finally, I would like to recognize my wife Angela for her patience, understanding and forbearance. Her unwavering support of my decision to explore a new career path and commit countless man-hours and limited financial resources to a somewhat selfish pursuit of taking the dream and turning it into a reality, has been nothing short of Saintly. She never grumbled or complained when I spent long hours at the computer doing research or writing literature reviews. She never once complained about partial weekends as I went off to attend class on numerous Saturdays. She never complained or got discouraged (as I did) about the slow pace of progress and seemingly endless stream of courses, classes and other requirements as I endeavored to complete my undergraduate and graduate work, as well as other professional safety certifications and training. The need to repay her for her unwavering trust and unselfish support is largely what drove my perennial ambition. I owe her more than just a debt of gratitude; I owe her a return-on-investment, starting with a conferred Master’s degree in Safety. One in which she earned as much as did I.

Abstract

This Report concentrates on the occupational safety and environmental support requirements unique to Chemical Process Industries (CPI) and other facilities subject to laws defining EPA’s Emergency Management Program and OSHA’s Process Safety Management (PSM) regulation. Titled, The Safety Professional’s Role: In Support of Industrial Facilities Operations and Maintenance (O&M), this paper discusses how the occupational safety professional, in direct support of a manager (or management group) of an industrial facility, can provide the advice and support needed to control hazards, minimize risk and maximize workplace safety at these inherently dangerous locations and during potentially dangerous operations.

While the primary purpose and objective of this paper is to satisfy the Research Project Report requirements pursuant to a Master’s in Science in Safety and Occupational Health Applied Science at Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire, it is hope of this author that many in Chemical Processing Industry (CPI) find the data presented herein useful to their process safety operations. The focus of this text is to review those aspects of occupational safety and facilities management that are critical to the success, efficiency and safe operation of process plants involved in the manufacture, blending, distillation, and refinement of hazardous chemicals.

Truly, chemical processing, in one form or another, serves as the engine of a global economy. Raw materials, whether extracted by drilling and mining, grown and cultivated in crops, or recovered from reusable materials, must be refined and processed into useful bulk materials and chemicals. These processes usually involve work around or with chemicals that possess hazardous qualities such as flammability, explosiveness, toxicity, or reactivity. These refined materials and bulk chemicals are then delivered to in the next stage of manufacture where they are used responsibly to produce the goods and products that make modern day living more comfortable and enjoyable. It is this process of chemical refinement and safe use and handling of these chemicals in manufacturing that is explored in this paper, particularly the practice of assessing and controlling the risk associated with the industrial use of these highly hazardous chemicals (HHCs). You know this policy and practice as Process Safety Management.

Work with HHCs clearly increases the risks and hazards at the job site where they are being stored, used and processed. Facility managers responsible for managing the complexities of Maintenance and Operations (O&M) associated with industrial facilities, turn to trained, educated, and experienced safety professionals for reliable safety advice, training and management support. Industrial Safety professionals, be they General Safety Practitioner, or specialists such as Industrial Hygienist, Environmental Affairs Manager, Hazardous Waste Coordinator, Chemical Hygiene Officer, Project Safety Manager, or Occupational Health Nurse can benefit from the findings and suggestions presented in this text. This research based report essentially serves as a roadmap of recommendations that a Safety Professional, engaged in O&M support, can use to be more responsive to the many needs of his or her process plant.

List of Abbreviations and Acronyms

ABM—Adaptive Business Management Systems, Ltd.

AN—Ammonium Nitrite

ANSI—American National Standards Institute

AIChE—American Institute of Chemical Engineers

ALARP—As Low As Reasonably Practical

API—American Petroleum Institute

ARIP—EPA’s Accidental Release Information Program

BEAC—Board of Environmental, Health and Safety Auditor Certifications

BLEVE—Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion

BOEMRE—Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement

BP—British Petroleum

CAAA—Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990

CCPS—Center for Chemical Process Safety

CDX—U.S. EPA’s Central Data Exchange

CEPPO—EPA’s Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office

CERCLA—Comprehensive Emergency Response, Compensation and Liability Act

CFATS—Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards

CIP—Continual Improvement Process

CMMS—Computerized Maintenance Management Systems

CPI—Chemical Processing Industries

COMAH—Control of Major Accidents Hazards Regulations of 1999

CPL—OSHA Compliance Directive

CPSA—Certified Process Safety Auditor

CSB—U.S. Chemical Safety