While the process safety principles conduct of operations, operational discipline, and operational readiness, have been a part of risk‐based process safety since the inception, recognizing the need for a formal management system connecting them and optimizing their value is a more recent concept introduced around 2010 with Walk the Line. Conduct of operations is concerned with how work is done in a manufacturing unit to produce consistent results. The philosophy behind Walk the Line is that to successfully produce consistent results, there are elements of leadership identifying the right tools, operators executing tasks correctly, and technical people monitoring results and changing the tools for continuous improvement. Each of these disciplines, management, operational, and engineering should be in place to ensure consistent performance and repeatable results. This paper reflects on the last 10 years of Walk the Line and highlights features of the conduct of operations model that supports a sustainable management system, continuous improvement, and reduction of process safety incidents.
{"title":"Ten years of walk the line","authors":"Jerry Forest","doi":"10.1002/prs.12635","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/prs.12635","url":null,"abstract":"While the process safety principles conduct of operations, operational discipline, and operational readiness, have been a part of risk‐based process safety since the inception, recognizing the need for a formal management system connecting them and optimizing their value is a more recent concept introduced around 2010 with <jats:italic>Walk the Line</jats:italic>. Conduct of operations is concerned with how work is done in a manufacturing unit to produce consistent results. The philosophy behind Walk the Line is that to successfully produce consistent results, there are elements of leadership identifying the right tools, operators executing tasks correctly, and technical people monitoring results and changing the tools for continuous improvement. Each of these disciplines, management, operational, and engineering should be in place to ensure consistent performance and repeatable results. This paper reflects on the last 10 years of Walk the Line and highlights features of the conduct of operations model that supports a sustainable management system, continuous improvement, and reduction of process safety incidents.","PeriodicalId":20680,"journal":{"name":"Process Safety Progress","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141865180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Finding articles in Process Safety Progress back issues","authors":"Albert Ness","doi":"10.1002/prs.12633","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/prs.12633","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20680,"journal":{"name":"Process Safety Progress","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141586062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Process safety practices and management systems have been in place for many years and have been widely credited for reductions in major accident risk. However, many organizations today are challenged by inadequate management system performance, resource pressures, and stagnant or declining process safety performance. Systems for managing process safety have not been fully successful in some organizations due to a variety of issues; major, frequent contributors include a lack of senior management commitment and poor safety culture. Senior management commitment and safety culture are inextricably linked, as the quality of an organization's leadership and their commitment will drive or limit the culture. Changes to improve management systems are relatively easy to implement, but extremely difficult to sustain without strong leadership commitment and total line management support. It is not just a case of changing the systems, but also changing the safety culture of the organization. Safety culture tends to be the result of everything that happened or failed to happen and represents the organization's shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors with respect to safety (occupational safety and process safety). To change the safety culture and sustain the change, leadership must care and explicitly show that they care all of the time. Only then can an organization begin to improve its culture. The first step for any organization is identifying and understanding their existing culture. This paper will present the essential features of a sound safety culture and a methodology for identifying safety culture weaknesses based upon a culture, leadership, and accountability (CLA) review protocol used at different levels of the organization. Other key steps involved in changing and sustaining an improved safety culture will also be addressed.
{"title":"Leading by example: Culture, leadership, and accountability","authors":"Michael P. Broadribb","doi":"10.1002/prs.12634","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/prs.12634","url":null,"abstract":"Process safety practices and management systems have been in place for many years and have been widely credited for reductions in major accident risk. However, many organizations today are challenged by inadequate management system performance, resource pressures, and stagnant or declining process safety performance. Systems for managing process safety have not been fully successful in some organizations due to a variety of issues; major, frequent contributors include a lack of senior management commitment and poor safety culture. Senior management commitment and safety culture are inextricably linked, as the quality of an organization's leadership and their commitment will drive or limit the culture. Changes to improve management systems are relatively easy to implement, but extremely difficult to sustain without strong leadership commitment and total line management support. It is not just a case of changing the systems, but also changing the safety culture of the organization. Safety culture tends to be the result of everything that happened or failed to happen and represents the organization's shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors with respect to safety (occupational safety and process safety). To change the safety culture and sustain the change, leadership must care and <jats:italic>explicitly</jats:italic> show that they care <jats:italic>all of the time</jats:italic>. Only then can an organization begin to improve its culture. The first step for any organization is identifying and understanding their existing culture. This paper will present the essential features of a sound safety culture and a methodology for identifying safety culture weaknesses based upon a culture, leadership, and accountability (CLA) review protocol used at different levels of the organization. Other key steps involved in changing and sustaining an improved safety culture will also be addressed.","PeriodicalId":20680,"journal":{"name":"Process Safety Progress","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141586063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Naima Nehal, Mokhtaria Mekkakia‐Mehdi, Zakia Lounis, Islam H. M. Guetarni, Zoubida Lounis
Hazard studies are essential in the petrochemical industry to ensure safe operations. This article provides an in‐depth analysis of the hazards associated with a vacuum distillation unit furnace. This study aims to identify probable hazard scenarios related to furnace operation, assess the associated risks, and provide prevention and mitigation strategies. A comprehensive strategy was employed to achieve these objectives, combining two analysis methods: HAZard OPerability (HAZOP) and Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA). This integrated approach enables a comprehensive risk assessment to be carried out and appropriate preventive measures to be taken to maintain safe operations, including renovation work. Then, depending on the results of the two methods, it is essential to constantly evaluate equipment safety, taking into account parameters such as furnace efficiency, tube temperature, and fume temperature. Therefore, a monitoring program has been created in Python, which enables real‐time examination of the furnace's safety with these critical parameters. If safety conditions are compromised, alarms are sent to mitigate risks, particularly in case of a failure. A Bayesian model is also developed to evaluate the algorithm's results and determine renovation and failure case scenarios. This comprehensive approach improves risk assessment's reliability, precision, maintains safe and efficient industrial operations.
{"title":"HAZOP, FMECA, monitoring algorithm, and Bayesian network integrated approach for an exhaustive risk assessment and real‐time safety analysis: Case study","authors":"Naima Nehal, Mokhtaria Mekkakia‐Mehdi, Zakia Lounis, Islam H. M. Guetarni, Zoubida Lounis","doi":"10.1002/prs.12628","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/prs.12628","url":null,"abstract":"Hazard studies are essential in the petrochemical industry to ensure safe operations. This article provides an in‐depth analysis of the hazards associated with a vacuum distillation unit furnace. This study aims to identify probable hazard scenarios related to furnace operation, assess the associated risks, and provide prevention and mitigation strategies. A comprehensive strategy was employed to achieve these objectives, combining two analysis methods: HAZard OPerability (HAZOP) and Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">(FMECA).</jats:styled-content> This integrated approach enables a comprehensive risk assessment to be carried out and appropriate preventive measures to be taken to maintain safe operations, including renovation work. Then, depending on the results of the two methods, it is essential to constantly evaluate equipment safety, taking into account parameters such as furnace efficiency, tube temperature, and fume temperature. Therefore, a monitoring program has been created in Python, which enables real‐time examination of the furnace's safety with these critical parameters. If safety conditions are compromised, alarms are sent to mitigate risks, particularly in case of a failure. A Bayesian model is also developed to evaluate the algorithm's results and determine renovation and failure case scenarios. This comprehensive approach improves risk assessment's reliability, precision, maintains safe and efficient industrial operations.","PeriodicalId":20680,"journal":{"name":"Process Safety Progress","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141576871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In chemical plants, the pressure to prioritize production and minimize operating costs often leads to delays in safety investments. To allocate limited management resources effectively, decision‐making regarding safety investments must follow a logical approach. This article outlines how engineers can provide valuable information to the management, enabling them to make informed decisions. We demonstrate that decision‐making involves both technical and economic considerations, following a well‐defined process with distinct stages. This study highlights the importance of technical data in making informed decisions regarding safety investments. Decision makers must consider various factors, including risk assessment, economic efficiency, technology reliability, and construction safety. In addition, economic efficiency considerations should incorporate new proposals that account for environmental profit/loss. Our findings confirm that effectiveness of the proposed method, particularly when applied to fluidized‐bed reactors. In conclusion, accurate allocation of management resources at appropriate times leads to reasonable risk reduction.
{"title":"Decision‐making regarding safety investments: A case study of fluidized‐bed reactors","authors":"K. Sano, Yusuke Koshiba","doi":"10.1002/prs.12631","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/prs.12631","url":null,"abstract":"In chemical plants, the pressure to prioritize production and minimize operating costs often leads to delays in safety investments. To allocate limited management resources effectively, decision‐making regarding safety investments must follow a logical approach. This article outlines how engineers can provide valuable information to the management, enabling them to make informed decisions. We demonstrate that decision‐making involves both technical and economic considerations, following a well‐defined process with distinct stages. This study highlights the importance of technical data in making informed decisions regarding safety investments. Decision makers must consider various factors, including risk assessment, economic efficiency, technology reliability, and construction safety. In addition, economic efficiency considerations should incorporate new proposals that account for environmental profit/loss. Our findings confirm that effectiveness of the proposed method, particularly when applied to fluidized‐bed reactors. In conclusion, accurate allocation of management resources at appropriate times leads to reasonable risk reduction.","PeriodicalId":20680,"journal":{"name":"Process Safety Progress","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141335396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Laura Anato, Luis Carrero, Guy Brouillard, Catherine Morar
Layers of protection analysis (LOPA) is a semiquantitative technique widely used in process industries for assessing hazardous scenarios and supporting risk‐informed decision making. It provides a balance between the simplicity of qualitative analysis and the detail of quantitative analysis. This paper discusses the authors' experiences with the application of LOPA in the mining and metals (M&M) industry, combined with traditional methods like HAZOP and HAZID, to identify risks. Several of LOPA's limitations became evident, and scenarios involving human factors, natural events, and asset integrity were excluded from analysis. Certain M&M processes, often complex and heavily reliant on manual operations, pose unique challenges to LOPA's effectiveness due to difficulties in isolating independent protection layers: for example, those involving induction furnaces where overheat scenarios can lead to explosive phase transitions upon contact with water and molten metal. Despite these challenges, the advantages of LOPA, such as enhanced understanding of protection layers and fostering effective safety improvements, are significant. The paper anticipates continued use of LOPA within the company, complemented by safety critical task analysis to manage human errors and enhance safety controls in critical situations.
{"title":"Application and challenges of layers of protection analysis (LOPA) in mining processes: Insights into benefits and limitations","authors":"Laura Anato, Luis Carrero, Guy Brouillard, Catherine Morar","doi":"10.1002/prs.12615","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/prs.12615","url":null,"abstract":"Layers of protection analysis (LOPA) is a semiquantitative technique widely used in process industries for assessing hazardous scenarios and supporting risk‐informed decision making. It provides a balance between the simplicity of qualitative analysis and the detail of quantitative analysis. This paper discusses the authors' experiences with the application of LOPA in the mining and metals (M&M) industry, combined with traditional methods like HAZOP and HAZID, to identify risks. Several of LOPA's limitations became evident, and scenarios involving human factors, natural events, and asset integrity were excluded from analysis. Certain M&M processes, often complex and heavily reliant on manual operations, pose unique challenges to LOPA's effectiveness due to difficulties in isolating independent protection layers: for example, those involving induction furnaces where overheat scenarios can lead to explosive phase transitions upon contact with water and molten metal. Despite these challenges, the advantages of LOPA, such as enhanced understanding of protection layers and fostering effective safety improvements, are significant. The paper anticipates continued use of LOPA within the company, complemented by safety critical task analysis to manage human errors and enhance safety controls in critical situations.","PeriodicalId":20680,"journal":{"name":"Process Safety Progress","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140974031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
To conduct a comprehensive investigation into the nail penetration thermal runaway (TR) characteristics of 16 Ah/5 Ah lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) and their modules. The study aims to analyze the burst characteristics and examine the variations in TR behavior under specific conditions, with the goal of improving early warning and protection against LIB TR incidents. The research findings demonstrate that mechanical nail penetration can rapidly trigger TR, resulting in the highest temperature 522.3°C within 51.9 s, and the fastest is 20 s. In the case of LIB modules, a secondary temperature rise occurs, exhibiting an increased rate of up to 77%. Notably, when the battery bulges, there is a release of high‐temperature two‐phase heat flow accompanied by a significant discharge of combustible gases. This escalation increases the risk of further explosions. Moreover, the study observes repeated spray fires and the generation of a considerable amount of smoke. Additionally, the study highlights the role of sudden rise in temperature and the release of H2 as early indicators of TR. These findings provide valuable theoretical insights into the characteristics and risks of square soft LIBs, enhance safety measures, and contribute to the development of early warning systems for LIBs.
{"title":"Research on the thermal runaway characteristics and risks of square soft lithium‐ion batteries nail penetration","authors":"Jun Wang, Le Wang, Renming Pan, Xia Zhou","doi":"10.1002/prs.12613","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/prs.12613","url":null,"abstract":"To conduct a comprehensive investigation into the nail penetration thermal runaway (TR) characteristics of 16 Ah/5 Ah lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) and their modules. The study aims to analyze the burst characteristics and examine the variations in TR behavior under specific conditions, with the goal of improving early warning and protection against LIB TR incidents. The research findings demonstrate that mechanical nail penetration can rapidly trigger TR, resulting in the highest temperature 522.3°C within 51.9 s, and the fastest is 20 s. In the case of LIB modules, a secondary temperature rise occurs, exhibiting an increased rate of up to 77%. Notably, when the battery bulges, there is a release of high‐temperature two‐phase heat flow accompanied by a significant discharge of combustible gases. This escalation increases the risk of further explosions. Moreover, the study observes repeated spray fires and the generation of a considerable amount of smoke. Additionally, the study highlights the role of sudden rise in temperature and the release of H2 as early indicators of TR. These findings provide valuable theoretical insights into the characteristics and risks of square soft LIBs, enhance safety measures, and contribute to the development of early warning systems for LIBs.","PeriodicalId":20680,"journal":{"name":"Process Safety Progress","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140942473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the critical process safety considerations inherent in hydrometallurgical metal recovery within the lithium‐ion battery (LiB) recycling process. As hydrometallurgy application in LiB recycling is still in the early stages of development, it is crucial to identify the hazards and provide safety recommendations. Hazards related to hydrometallurgy are identified and categorized in process, toxic, fire, explosion, corrosion, environment, storage, and transport hazards. Risk reduction measures are suggested using the hierarchy of control methodology to eliminate and reduce risks to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP), based on UK regulatory framework.
{"title":"Safety considerations for hydrometallurgical metal recovery from lithium‐ion batteries","authors":"Sakshi Jain, Seyed Mojtaba Hoseyni, Joan Cordiner","doi":"10.1002/prs.12618","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/prs.12618","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the critical process safety considerations inherent in hydrometallurgical metal recovery within the lithium‐ion battery (LiB) recycling process. As hydrometallurgy application in LiB recycling is still in the early stages of development, it is crucial to identify the hazards and provide safety recommendations. Hazards related to hydrometallurgy are identified and categorized in process, toxic, fire, explosion, corrosion, environment, storage, and transport hazards. Risk reduction measures are suggested using the hierarchy of control methodology to eliminate and reduce risks to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP), based on UK regulatory framework.","PeriodicalId":20680,"journal":{"name":"Process Safety Progress","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140940788","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}