Lessons from Hazira fire

With reference to my previous post about a fire in a refinery, a fire had occurred in January 2013 in a oil depot of IOC at Hazira.that Killed 5 workers. The investigation report of that incident mentions that  the root cause of the incident was ignition of flammable vapours inside a floating roof tank pontoon.It appears that the pontoon was earlier repaired with old corroded plates that led to the leak. The cause of ignition was most likely a spark generated due to a falling object.


Read the report in this link.

See a video of the fire in this link. 


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Operator dies in flare KO drum area fire

A fire in a flare KO drum area has killed an operator in an IOC refinery in Koyali.  The incident occurred on 16th July and the operator succumbed to his burns on 25th July. While the reasons for the incident are being investigated, please remember that Flare systems are emergency safety systems and that we need to pay them great attention. Often fires get reported due to water seals blowing, overflows from flare stacks, and inadequate maintenance. Are you giving your flare systems the same importance as a single stream rotating equipment?

Read the news article about the incident in this link. 

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MOC survey results

Thank you to the participants of the MOC survey
Results are given below:

Total participants: 45

What do you feel is the weakest link in your MOC program?

Lack of commitment by top management                              21.7%   

Too elaborate and complicated                                               29.7%   

Lack of time                                                                            48.6%

Do you have adequate time to conduct a PSSR?

Yes                                                                                          64.9%

No                                                                                            35.1%

Do you feel the PHA conducted as part of MOC is really bringing out all process hazards?

Yes                                                                                         48.6%

No                                                                                           51.4%

What is the greatest challenge to your MOC program?

Majority answered that it is lack of proper engineering documentation

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3D virtual simulator for chemical plants

Now this is one technology driven change that sure is going to benefit process safety! The Department of Energy is running a program with West Virginia University to test 3D virtual simulators for training process plant simulators. Read an article about this in this link.

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Accident in urea plant in 1992 - Are you taking precautions?

 In 1992, while doing maintenance work on an ammonia feed pump in a urea plant in India, 11 persons died due to sudden ingress of ammonia reportedly due to a failed suction valve bush.What precautions are you taking when handing over equipment for maintenance to prevent such incidents?
Read the incident in this link.

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A balloon causes a refinery outage!

A news report indicates that a refinery in the US experienced a "momentary power problem that prompted a plant restart". Apparently, the problem was caused by a Mylar balloon that got caught in power lines supplying the refinery. Read the article in this link.

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Explosion in solvent tank

An explosion took place in a solvent tank that was part of a process that was being started up for the first time. It is reported that the explosion took place even though there was a nitrogen blanketing system of the tank. When you start a plant for the first time or after any modifications, be very careful. Humans make mistakes and especially during the time pressures for commissioning.


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Management of Change survey

Dear Readers,
Kindly take a few minutes to complete a Management of Change survey (6 questions, multiple choice) in this link.

Date of closing of survey is 24.7.13. Results will be published in blog. Thank you for your participation.


Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"

Operating discipline!

For those of you folks who are practicing behavior based safety in your organisation to improve safety culture, see this very educational video in this link. 


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An organisations take on Safety Culture

In an article in Power Magazine, I read about a company called NV Energy who have developed a very good safety culture and it shows in their accident stats. You may argue that they are a small organization but I believe what they are doing is also applicable to big organizations.

 Read the article in this link.


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3d printed chemical reactor achieved

Further to my last post, "Scientists in the UK have used reactors made on a 3D printer to complete a three stage organic synthesis. The reagents, catalyst and purification step for the synthesis are completely integrated into the chambers of the sealed reactor. When the reactor is rotated, gravity pulls reactants through the different chambers to complete the synthesis".

Read the article in this link.
The next step in process safety may well be micro reactors and micro plants.......stay tuned!! 

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3d printing and process safety

The news has been full of reports of how a company put their plan for 3D printing of a plastic gun on the net and how one person was even able to fire a bullet from it. It appears right now that the printer prints using plastic material. The advantages claimed are accuracy, less wastage. An article by Bloomberg  "Your future will be made by 3D printers" is interesting to read.

In the future, maybe 3D printing will improve process safety by eliminating manufacturing defects!!


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Drones for flare tip inspection

While we read about drones being used for military purposes, here is another use for them -a refinery has used a drone fitted with a camera for inspection of the flare tip while refinery was in operation. Now this is what I call as innovative usage of technology! Read the article in this link. 

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A confined space fatality

Three years ago, a experienced person (17 years experience) lost his life when he entered a space inside a ship that was inerted with nitrogen. This, through he was trained and experienced.
 Read the accident report in this link.

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Another hot work tank explosion

A refinery in China experienced a hot work accident that killed two workers. Apparently the tank in which the accident took place was decommissioned. Ensure you take all precautions when doing hot work on tanks.
Read the news articles in these links:
Tank explosion 1
Tank explosion 2

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Vessel blast kills one

In a fertilizer manufacturing facility very close to the Louisana unit, one person was killed when a vessel ruptured when it was being pressurized with nitrogen.
Read about the incident in this link.

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Photos of the fire in chemical plant

See photos of the fire in the chemical plant in Louisana in this link

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Explosion in chemical plant

An explosion in a chemical plant (manufacturing ethylene/propylene) in Louisana has killed one person and injured several. We have to wait for the CSB to investigate and report the findings.
Read about the incident in this link
Watch the video in this link.

 Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"

Rescuers die in a confined space rescue

A tragic accident where two rescuers lost their lives trying to rescue two persons who had lost consciousness inside a chimney is reported in a bio gas plant under construction in Thailand. This incident stresses the need for training would be rescuers. World over, many deaths continue to occur as rescuers enter confined space without proper protection and loose their lives. Read the incident in this link. 

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Process safety leadership survey results

A total of 55 readers undertook the survey and I thank them for their participation. The results are given below:
 

1. How much do you think are your top management really committed to process safety?

Very much                                                         39.2 %   

Sometimes                                                        25.9%   

Needs improvement

(they say something and do something else)  34.9%   

2. In times of production problems, do you think process safety gets bypassed according to the urgency?

 Yes                    22.9%   

Sometimes        60.4%   

Never                 16.7%   

3. Do your PSM audit findings receive adequate follow up from top management?

 Yes                                                46.8%   

Needs improvement                      53.2%   

4. Do your inspection departments findings get overruled by top management to maintain production?

 Yes, but with a technical basis     47.9%   

Yes, without a technical basis       25.0%   

No, never                                       27.1%   

5. Do you get contradicting signals from top management regarding process safety?

 No, never              41.7%  

Yes, sometimes    56.3%   

Yes, always           2.0%     

6. Do you feel the root cause analysis of process incidents and near misses really bring out the root causes?

Yes                       72.9%   

No                         27.1%   

                             

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