We are like this only........

Recently I was travelling on a highway which is notorious for accidents. The company car which had picked me up had 4 other employees in it. Only the driver and me (sitting in the rear seat) were wearing the seat belts. I finished my work in the company (which has many plants at various locations) and was travelling back with the corporate safety head of the company along with me. He was not wearing his seat belt!! The driver was rash but none objected till I told him to drive safely. Guess you know where the problem is!!
Why are we like this??

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Pneumatic test accident

The dangers of pneumatic testing is highlighted in this fatal accident.


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PROCESS SAFETY TRAINING SERVICES BROCHURE

To all my readers, please find the process safety training brochure listing out the various topics I provide training in this link. 

 
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Major fire in chemical factory in AP

A major fire in a chemical factory in Nalgonda in Andhra Pradesh has been reported. The fire apparently began due to methanol catching fire. Read and see the video at NDTV in this link 



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Bypassing overrides and the metro incident

The recent incident in the Delhi metro where the train travelled some distance with the doors open has a parallel to process safety. Apparently, problems were observed by the driver with the door closing system and he requested permission to override it and operate it manually. After getting the permission, he apparently did operate the doors manually in a few stations, but forgot to do so at one.

When you authorise trip or override bypasses due to a malfunction, the sense of vulnerability must increase ten fold with close supervision to prevent human error remember WHERE HUMAN, THERE ERROR!

Read the article mentioning the incident in this link. 


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Controlling a chemical plant by thought

 Engineers are perfecting the art of flying a plane just by using a pilots thoughts. This research has progressed rapidly and the article in this link explains the status.
Is it possible that a few years down the line, we may be controlling plants through the DCS operator thoughts? If they perfect the art of flying a plane just by thoughts, then I am sure the technology will filter down.


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Explosion in chemical plant injures one

 News reports in the USA indicate an explosion occurred in a chemical plant, injuring one. "A broken process line produced a chemical reaction, causing a small explosion in the chemical production area" is the statement made by plant official in this link. 

 While I am not commenting about the cause of this incident which is under investigation, how good is your asset integrity program? A good asset integrity program should ensure that you do not have failures like broken lines etc.

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Contamination in pipelines can cause disasters

In 2009, a commercial jet liner had to declare an emergency and land at Hong Kong airport after its engines lost thrust due to contaminated fuel. The reasons for the contamination was because of salt water in the fuel which was loaded in the previous airport. The underground fueling system at that airport was being extended. During the commissioning, salt water in a new pipe entered the main fuel lines as the clearing procedures were inadequate. This caused the thrust problems in the engines. In our chemical process industry, we often line up equipment after repair/hydrotest. Any remnants of water could cause a catastrophic incident later. Make sure your commissioning and start up procedures address this.


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People, Processes And Problems: Better Understanding The Three P’s Of Manufacturing

People, Processes And Problems: Better Understanding The Three P’s Of Manufacturing

Thanks to Balachander Rao, my chemical engineering classmate for sending this insightful article.

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GAIL officials’ negligence led to pipeline blast: expert - The Hindu

GAIL officials’ negligence led to pipeline blast: expert - The Hindu

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Deadly reaction of lime sulphur with NPK solution

An incident where a farm worker was exposed to Hydrogen Sulphide due to mixing of Lime sulphur (mixture of calcium polysulfides formed by reacting calcium hydroxide with sulphur) with NPK solution is highlighted in this link.

MSDS of lime sulphur is given in this link where it mentions acidic materials or dilution with water will cause the release of hydrogen sulfide.



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Article on flange leaks

Even though this article is 9 years old, the causes of flange leaks remain the same. Worth reading in this link.
PS: This is for information only.

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