Primatech

Primatech at TCC / ACIT in Galveston, Texas

While attending the Texas Chemical Council / ACIT Environmental, Health, and Safety Seminar on June 3 -6, 2013 in Galveston, Texas, please be sure to visit Primatech's booth. Representing Primatech at this year's conference will be Andrew Chapman, Shawn Metzler, and Steven Baybutt. They will be available to discuss how Primatech's training, consulting, certification, and software services can assist in meeting your organization’s PSM objectives. Additionally, be sure to drop off your business card at Primatech's booth for a chance to win an iPad Mini!

Click here for Booth Location

Primatech's Dr. Paul Baybutt delivered presentations on human factors, layers of protection analysis and risk tolerance criteria at the 9th Global Congress on Process Safety

Primatech's Dr. Paul Baybutt delivered three presentations at the 9^th Global Congress on Process Safety in San Antonio, Texas:

Process hazards analysis, layers of protection analysis, and the human factor.

Issues in developing and using risk tolerance criteria.

Addressing enablers in layers of protection analysis.

Primatech launches Primatech Certification Services

Primatech Certification Services (PCS) has been founded by Primatech Inc. as an independent organization to certify the competence of process safety and risk management professionals.

The competence of process safety and risk management personnel is a critical aspect of achieving adequate levels of safety and tolerable levels of risk. The importance of the role played by process safety and risk management practitioners in helping to ensure the protection of people, property and the environment mandates that such personnel be certified.

PCS offers certification to individuals who have met a defined standard of competency through education, training, experience, practice, and examination. Current certifications offered are Certified PHA Practitioner (CPP^SM), Certified LOPA Practitioner (CLP^SM), Certified Process Safety Auditor (CPSA).

Click here for more information.

Primatech at CCPS Global Congress in San Antonio

While attending the CCPS 9th Global Congress Process Safety on April 28-May 1 in San Antonio, please be sure to visit Primatech's booth at the Process Safety Expo. Representing Primatech at this year's conference will be Andrew Chapman, Shawn Metzler, Tamara Moorman, Steven Baybutt, Doug Ferguson, Kim Mullins, and Remi Agraz. They will be available to discuss how Primatech's training, consulting, and software services can assist in meeting your organization’s PSM objectives. Additionally, be sure to drop off your business card at Primatech's booth for a chance to win an iPad Mini!

Click here for Booth Location

HAZCOM Standard: Workers must be trained by December 1, 2013

OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard is now aligned with the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. The updated Hazard Communication Standard provides a common and coherent approach to classifying chemicals and communicating hazard information on labels and safety data sheets.

The first deadline in the implementation phase is December 1, 2013. Employers must train workers on the new label elements and safety data sheet by that date.

An OSHA fact sheet that discusses the training topics that employers must cover for the initial deadline is available at:

http://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3642.pdf

Primatech staff members authored chapters on Process Safety Regulations Around the World, Process Hazards Analysis, Layers of Protection Analysis, and Safety Instrumented Systems in the recently released Wiley Handbook of Loss Prevention Engineering.

The Wiley Handbook of Loss Prevention Engineering is intended as a one-stop source for loss prevention principles, policies, practices, programs and methods presented from an engineering vantage point. Handbook of Loss Prevention Engineering, Joel M. Haight (editor), Wiley-VCH, 2013.

LOPAWorks 3 Released - Conduct Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA) for hazard scenarios.

Primatech is pleased to release LOPAWorks 3. LOPAWorks allows users to conduct Layers Of Protection Analysis (LOPA) for hazard scenarios using either the CCPS or PHA spreadsheet format. The software calculates scenario risks and compares them with risk tolerance criteria to determine what, if any, risk reduction is needed. Scenarios may be associated with hazardous events to facilitate compliance with the IEC 61511 / ISA 84 standards for Safety Instrumented Systems (SISs).

Read More: LOPAWorks 3

Primatech's Dr. Paul Baybutt critiques article on risk criteria

Primatech's Dr. Paul Baybutt wrote a letter to the editor of Process Safety Progress that was published in the December, 2012 issue, 31(4), pps. 328 – 329. The letter comments on the article, “Risk Criteria, Protection Layers, and Conditional Modifiers,” that appeared in the June, 2012 edition of Process Safety Progress (Vol. 31, No. 2, pps. 139 - 144) authored by Angela E. Summers and William H. Hearn. Baybutt argues that the approach described by Summers and Hearn can result in poor decisions. He states that the approach is flawed because it is difficult to define consistent risk tolerance criteria for hazardous events and that it is incomplete because the only way to define meaningful risk tolerance criteria is with reference to the overall or cumulative risk from a facility.

Baybutt suggests that a better approach is to evaluate the cumulative risk of hazard scenarios for a facility for comparison with overall facility risk tolerance criteria in combination with the allocation of overall risk to hazard scenarios and receptors. The comparison of cumulative risk with overall risk tolerance criteria provides an essential check to ensure that the overall risk from a facility is indeed tolerable while the allocation of overall risk tolerance criteria to hazard scenarios and receptors helps to ensure an equitable distribution of risk for individual processes, areas, units, process modes, people, etc. so none inappropriately bears the brunt of the risk. Summers' response (Process Safety Progress, 31(4), page 329) to Baybutt's letter mistakenly argues that these two risk evaluations conflict which is not the case. One evaluation ensures that the total risk from a facility is tolerable while the other evaluation ensures that no one receptor bears undue risk thus addressing two key risk management principles.

Baybutt's letter also corrects two other technical errors in the Summers and Hearn paper relating to the fractional time that a process spends in each operating mode and the difference between individual and societal risk tolerance criteria

Primatech's Dr. Paul Baybutt authors article on risk reduction measures to credit in PHA

This article was published in the December 2012 issue of Process Safety Progress, 31(4), pps. 359 - 362.

Abstract

            Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) identifies existing risk reduction measures so that their contribution to reducing risk can be determined in order to decide if the risk of hazard scenarios is tolerable. Unfortunately, PHA practitioners do not follow consistent practices in crediting risk reduction measures as there are no generally accepted standards or guidelines for doing so. This situation leads to inconsistent studies and possibly erroneous results. The meaning of risk reduction measures and their relationship to process safeguards are discussed in this article and risk reduction measures that could be credited in PHA are identified.

OSHA releases fact sheet on internal combustion engines as ignition sources

OSHA and US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) investigations have documented a history of fires and explosions at oilfields, refineries, chemical plants, and other facilities where an internal combustion engine was identified as or suspected to be the source of ignition. OSHA’s new fact sheet, Internal Combustion Engines as Ignition Sources, helps employers and workers understand the risks involved in the use of internal combustion engines, as well as some of the control strategies that should be used to prevent catastrophic events.

Link: http://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3589.pdf