When disasters like the Sayano–Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station collapse in Khakassia, Russia, occur, it is difficult to get past the overpowering tragedy of 75 people losing their lives and 40 other sustaining injuries. The only way to draw positiv… Having a safety plan in place is not enough to guarantee safety of manufacturing automation operations. […]
It just seemed like a good idea. Instead of running two reboilers at the same time and shutting down the process when they fouled, why not operate one at a time and when one fouls, start up the other. Then you can perform maintenance on the off-line reboiler. In this way, the process can keep […]
When the EAF exploded at Carbide Industries, March 21, 2011, the two fatalities were operators working in the control room only 12 ft. from the lid of the furnace. The explosion was violent enough to throw chunks of debris and molten carbide through a window with dual-pane, half-inch thick glass and wire reinforcing. But this […]
INCIDENT Having A Safety Plan In Place Is Not Enough Of A Guarantee Safety incidents rarely occur as the result of a singular independent occurrence, but rather result from a series of events and/or bad decisions that lead up to the accident. Over time, when small, overlooked detailed issues are addressed and/or fixed, accidents further […]
Among the physical causes of the initial process safety incident, maintenance should be at the top of the list. That basic safety management failure struck the first match. How tightly does a flange have to be bolted to prevent vapor leaks on a condensate line pressurized to 650 psi? Most people that have been […]
The raffinate splitter tower had no functioning level sensors—overflow was the hazardous result. On March 23, 2005, the raffinate splitter process was being restarted after a turndown. The unit had been shut down February 21 so that the tower could be drained, purged, and steam cleaned to remove residues. Apparently nothing had been done to […]
INCIDENT Williams Olefins Incident- The Day Multiple Safety Errors Led to a Major Chemical Plant Blast Part 2: The errors that should have been avoided On June 13, 2013, the Williams Olefins chemical plant in Geismar, Louisiana blew up, killing two workers and injuring 167. The main cause of the explosion was an inability to […]
INCIDENT Operators Running Without Training: The Bayer Crop Science Incident Prior to the 2008 incident, the methomyl unit at the Institute facility had been shut down for two major equipment upgrades: the DCS had been replaced and the old carbon steel residue treater vessel had been replaced with a new stainless steel pressure vessel. In this […]
INCIDENT Williams Olefins Incident: The Day Multiple Safety Errors Led to a Major Chemical Plant Blast Part 3: Identification of potential hazards When the new valves were integrated into the existing system, the company underwent a management of change (MOC) process, which should have led to a more involved Process Hazard Analysis (PHA). If the […]
Previous INCIDENT Maintenance activities at Carbide Industries couldn’t keep pace with equipment deterioration. The failure was ultimately catastrophic. While no single cause was pinpointed for the March 21, 2011 explosion at Carbide Industries, most fingers point back to the furnace lid. This was a complex structure of steel and ceramic construction, designed to take the […]
Operators didn’t see the tank overfilling. Part of the problem was mechanical, but part was inattention. How much can we expect from individual operators? The Buncefield fuel depot fire was somewhat akin to leaving the tub filling in the upstairs bathroom, going somewhere else in the house and forgetting the water is running. On one […]
INCIDENT Mechanical Failures and Misunderstandings On March 23, 2005, the raffinate splitter process was being restarted after a turndown. The unit had been shut down February 21 so that the tower could be drained, purged, and steam cleaned to remove residues. Apparently nothing had been done to check level sensors installed in the tower, and […]
When disasters like the Sayano–Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station collapse in Khakassia, Russia, occur, it is difficult to get past the overpowering tragedy of 75 people losing their lives and 40 other sustaining injuries. The only way to draw positives from such an incident is to learn from the experience so that the same mistakes never […]
INCIDENT A Process Hazard Analysis of the Human Factor: Piper Alpha Incident Operator and supervisor errors escalated a process safety incident into a disaster. Could people better trained in oil and gas safety procedures have prevented it, or stopped the process safety incident once the fire stated? On the night of July 6, 1988, five […]