PROCESS SAFETY
PROCESS SAFETY
What is Process Safety?
Industrial facilities acquire various chemicals for use as raw materials, semi-finished products, or fuel. Their objective is to carry out specific production processes by circulating these substances through piping, vessels, or heat exchangers.
Through process management, facilities aim to ensure that chemicals move through the system according to design specifications, discharging only from designated points in the intended forms, while preventing unforeseen releases.
Process Safety can be defined as a combination of engineering and management principles focused on keeping hazardous substances and energy within the production, transmission, and storage equipment—and under the conditions (pressure, temperature, flow, density, current, etc.)—stipulated during the design process, while preventing potential deviations. (EIGA, PSM Framework Guidance Document SAC Doc 186/14/E, 2014)
In shorter terms: hazardous chemicals introduced into a vessel or transmission line, or generated during a process, must not deviate from design values or discharge from unintended points during transmission and storage. Furthermore, they must not discharge in quantities exceeding intended limits. Therefore, process safety is the integration of proactive (preventative) and reactive (mitigative) measures taken for this purpose.
Process Safety Management System (PSM)
While there is no single global or national standard for PSM, several proposed component structures exist. Although these structures do not differ significantly in essence, the number of components may vary.
In Turkey, the Chamber of Chemical Engineers (KMO) has introduced a 20-component structure for discussion, based on the AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers) system. We adopt this 20-component structure as our baseline until a newer approach is established.
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Safety Culture
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Compliance with Legal Requirements and Standards
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Process Safety Competency
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Employee Involvement
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Stakeholder Outreach
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Process Knowledge Management
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Hazard Identification and Risk Analysis
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Operating Procedures
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Safe Work Practices
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Asset Integrity and Reliability
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Contractor Management
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Training and Performance Assurance
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Management of Change (MOC)
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Operational Readiness (PSSR)
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Conduct of Operations
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Emergency Management
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Incident Investigation
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Measurement and Metrics
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Auditing
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Management Review
It has been observed through past industrial accidents that process safety incidents occur infrequently but have catastrophic impacts. Preventing such events is only possible by implementing this entire component structure within facilities and, most importantly, by permanently establishing the first component: Safety Culture.