The Process Safety Professional
Note: This book is under development. Some of the material has been published at our blog site The PSM Report.
The Process Safety Professional provides guidance to managers, consultants and technical specialists in the energy and process industries. The formal discipline of process safety management is mature — the formal regulations are now over 30 years old, and much progress has been made. Many process facilities now have effective process safety programs in place. However, in the words of the motto,
There is always news about safety, and some of that news will be bad.
The books is organized into the following ten chapters.
- The Process Safety Discipline
- Process Safety Fundamentals
- Regulations and Standards
- The Management Elements
- Education and Skills
- Industrial Experience
- Industrial Experience
- The Process Safety Consultant
- The Future
- Net Zero
Chapters
Preface
Chapter 1
The Process Safety Discipline
Organization of this Book
Definition of Process Safety Management
A Timeline
Step 1. Safety as a Value
Step 2. Codes and Standards
Step 3. Workers Compensation
Step 4. Occupational/Personal Safety
Lockout / Tagout
PPE
Step 5. Systems Analysis
Step 6. Regulations
Step 7. Safety Management Systems
Safety Cases
ISO 9000 / 14001
Six Sigma
Step 8. Behavior Based Safety
Step 9. Instrumentation and Control Systems
Safety Instrumented Systems
HIPPS
Statistical Process Control
Step 10. Videos
Recordings of Events
Event Reconstruction
Chemical Safety Board
Step 11. Culture
Step 12. The Future
Important Events
Flixborough, U.K. (1974)
Bhopal, India (1984)
Piper Alpha, U.K. (1988)
Deepwater Horizon, U.S. (2010)
Chapter 2
Process Safety Fundamentals
Performance-Based / Non-Prescriptive
Systems
Imagination
Management Elements
Working With People
Culture
Defining Culture
Employee Participation
Perfection as a Slogan
Risk Analysis
Components of Risk
Calculation of Risk
Subjective Nature of Risk
Acceptable Risk
As Low as Reasonably Practical — ALARP
De Minimis Risk
Citations / Case Law
Indexing Methods
RAGAGEP
Safe Limits
Other Industries
Pipelines
Nuclear Navy
Electronics / Military
Civilian Nuclear Power
Transportation
Hyperloop Generic Safety Study
Chapter 3
Regulations and Standards
OSHA
EPA
OSHA and EPA Updates
COMAH
BSEE/SEMS
Safety Cases
Professional Standards
Company Standards
Environmental
Health
Effectiveness of Regulations and Standards
Chapter 4
The Management Elements
The “Most Important” Element
Process Safety Culture
Compliance
Competence
Workforce Involvement
Stakeholder Outreach
Knowledge Management
Hazard Identification and Risk Management
HAZOP
HAZOP by Difference
FMEA
LOPA
Bow-Tie
Multi-Lingual PHAs
Evergreen Hazards Analysis
Natural Events
Operating Procedures
Safe Work Practices
Asset Integrity / Reliability
Contractor Management
Training / Performance
Management of Change
Operational Readiness
Conduct of Operations
Emergency Management
Incident Investigation
Complex, Not Complicated
Credibility of Statements
Measurement and Metrics
Auditing
OSHA Audit Requirements
EPA RMP Audit Requirements
Audit Fundamentals
Management Review
Chapter 5
Education and Skills
The Problem is Jim
The Priest, the Doctor and the Engineer
Hard and Soft Skills
Formal Education
Continuing Education
Certification
Corporate Memory
Constant Learning
Knowledge of Past Events
Professional Involvement
Networking
Benefits of Networking
Social Media Networks
Communication Skills
Writing
Speaking
Conveying Bad News
Reading
Story Telling
Process Safety Beacon
Chemical Safety Board Videos
Process Safety Moments
Why Stories Are Important
Story Outline
Team Management
People as Individuals
People in Groups
Litigation Support
Project Management
The Resumé / CV
Level of Detail
Publications
Gaps / Negative Facts
Multiple Resumés
Chapter 6
Industrial Experience
Not Taught in the Classroom
Facility or Project Background
Industrial Equipment and Instrumentation
Warning Flags Over Your Organization
Flag #1 — Unrealistic Stretch Goals
Production Creep
Production Records
Initiative Overload
Flag #2 — Excessive Cost Reduction
Reduction of “Non-Essentials”
Reductions in the Work Force
The “Big Crew Change”
Flattened Organizations
Aging Infrastructure
Out-Sourcing
Not Enough Time for Detailed Work
Project Cutbacks
Organizational Spread
Flag #3 — Belief that “It Cannot Happen Here”
Lack of Direct Experience
Good Occupational Safety Performance
Lack of Imaginative Thinking
Failure to Learn from Near-Misses
Failure to Draw on Experience Elsewhere
Flag #4 — Over-Confidence Based on Rule Compliance
Flag #5 — Departmentalized Information Flow
Critical Safety Information Is Buried, Lost or Diluted
Team Player Culture
Fear of Litigation
Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures
Flag #6 — Ineffective Audit Processes
Softened News to Senior Managers
Failure to Identify Root Causes
Inadequate Follow Up
Process Safety Wisdom
Humility
Principles
Maintaining Corporate Memory
Mentoring Others
Chapter 7
Process Safety Engineering
Quantification
Piping and Instrument Diagrams (P&IDs)
Safety Data Sheets
Equipment Data Sheets
One Line Diagrams
Quality of Results
Response to the Calculation
Quality of the Results
Process Hazards Analysis
Vapor Dispersion
Fires and Explosions
THERP
Chapter 8
The Process Safety Consultant
Bang Bang
The Consultant as Outsider
Process Safety Consultants
True Expertise
Consultants — Not Doers
Client Relations
Cross-fertilization
Cuts Gordian Knots
Quick Study
Role of the Client
Response to Criticism
Marketing
Declining Experience
Chapter 9
The Future
Operational Excellence
Robotics
Assessments — Not Audits
Best Practices
Assessment Questions
Artificial Intelligence
Application to Process Safety Management
Knowledge Management
Hazard Identification
Operating Procedures
Incident Investigation
Chapter 10
Net Zero
Net Zero by 2050
An Age of Limits
Resource Depletion
Biosphere Destruction
Direct Action
Reduced Emissions
Flaring / Venting
Planning for Natural Hazards
A Net Zero Grid
A — Intermittent Energy
B — Continuous Energy
C — Storage
D — Electrolysis
E — Hydrogen / Ammonia
F — Carbon Capture and Storage
G — The Grid
H — Transportation
I — Industry
J — Biofuels
K — Refining
Glossary
Works Cited
Index