Archive for the ‘OSHA PSM’ Category
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM) program is nearly two decades old and I believe that the 14 PSM elements provide a good basic framework for facilities to create a safety program.
What OSHA PSM lacks is quality metric.
Let me explain further.
For example, one of the elements of the OSHA PSM is emergency planning. As a part of ...
Posted in Emergency Response Plan, OSHA PSM, Process Safety, Regulations | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
When you are driving on a highway, usually there is a speed limit. If you exceed this limit, a cop can give you a ticket.
In Houston, most highways have a speed limit of 65-70 miles per hour…although most drivers appear to assume it implies “90-mph is okay”.
Let us say the ...
Posted in EPA RMP, OSHA PSM, Process Safety, Regulations | No Comments »
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Stakeholder Comments on OSHA Combustible Rulemaking from John Astad's blog.
Posted in Dust Explosions, OSHA PSM, Regulations | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
OSHA inspected 42 refineries between June 2007 - February 2009. Below is a summary of violations for 30 refineries.
[Table=12]
The average penalty for each violation is $ 5,650.
The average penalty per refinery is $ 98,300.
Posted in OSHA PSM, Regulations | No Comments »
Friday, October 2nd, 2009
Recently, members of Congress sent a letter to OSHA chief, Jordan Barab, to expand PSM standard to address reactive chemicals.
Reactive chemicals have gained increasing attention since the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released its report on reactive chemicals in 2002. Now I have been working in the area of reactive chemicals ...
Posted in OSHA PSM, Reactive Chemicals, Regulations | No Comments »
Monday, September 14th, 2009
On July 27, 2009 OSHA launched its National Emphasis Program (NEP) targeted at chemical facilities. The NEP will operate as a one-year pilot program during which OSHA will conduct planned inspections of chemical facilities.
Which Chemical Facilities Will Be Reviewed?
The Chemical NEP will focus on facilities in the following regions:
Regions ...
Posted in EPA RMP, OSHA PSM, Regulations | No Comments »
Monday, August 24th, 2009
Process Safety has evolved significantly since the introduction of PSM in 1992. Here are top five challenges facing the process safety community today.
1. Human Error
One of the reasons “zero incident plants” is a myth is the potential for human error. We cannot take away human intervention and the possibility of ...
Posted in OSHA PSM, Process Safety, Safety Culture | 1 Comment »
Friday, August 21st, 2009
A chemical facility is mandated to have an emergency response plan by OSHA PSM and EPA RMP. An accident in the plant, a hurricane, and a potential terrorist attack are a few scenarios that mandate emergency response and planning. However, there is a vast difference between having an emergency plan ...
Posted in Emergency Response Plan, EPA RMP, OSHA PSM | 4 Comments »
Monday, August 10th, 2009
RAGAGEP stands for Recognized And Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices.
Specifically, OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119 (D)(3)(ii) states:The employer shall document that equipment complies with recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices.
EPA RMP also refers to RAGAGEP in 40 CFR 68.73:Inspection and testing procedures shall follow recognized and generally accepted good engineering ...
Posted in EPA RMP, OSHA PSM, Process Safety, Regulations | 1 Comment »
Sunday, May 31st, 2009
We appear to be in a global recession – companies all over are struggling to deal with impact of economic slowdown. In an attempt to maintain profits, companies are drastically reducing their spending and also trimming down their workforce. It is anticipated that one-fourth of the employers in the US ...
Posted in OSHA PSM, Process Safety, Risk Communication | No Comments »
