Cognascents is dedicated to providing our clients with experts that are up-to-date with the latest working knowledge across the Process Safety and Process Engineering spectrums. In striving to achieve this goal, our experts are often a part of technical discussions and debates. The Technical Toolkit will serve as our avenue to share information learned from these experiences within the dynamic Process Engineering and Process Safety Worlds.
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It is easy to fixate on production goals and become complacent towards everyday hazards in a process unit. Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs) present a unique opportunity for teams of operators and engineers to sit down, think critically about their process, and identify hazards that may need additional measures to mitigate the operational risks to personnel.…
When the dust settles after completion of a facility’s relief system design revalidation, the difficult task of mitigating any identified deficiencies begins. The question inevitably arises as to which deficiencies to address first, and if your facility has recently undergone a unit wide or facility wide relief system revalidation, you may be wondering how to…
Some time ago, a client had a heat and material balance that they wanted recreated and scaled, but the only documentation the client had in regards to process chemistry was a set of PFDs with stream tables. Based on the flow rates and compositions on the page (what was appearing and disappearing), I had to…
Maintaining the integrity of the relief system design basis for a PSM covered facility is no easy task. Especially when a single facility, such as a refinery or chemical plant, can contain thousands of relief devices. However, as the old saying goes, “there’s more than one way to skin a cat”. Our clients have chosen…
A few years ago, I was having dinner with a colleague after completing a HAZOP for a client. As we discussed the PHA, the topic of safety culture came up. What are the hallmarks of a good safety culture, how have we been seeing it wax and wane among clients, and how have we experienced…
I recently finished the book Riding Rockets by Mike Mullane. The book is a memoir of the author’s time as an astronaut at NASA during the heyday of the Space Shuttle Program. With the recent 35th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, I could not help but reflect on some of the insights from the book.…
Alright; stop, grab a seat, and listen… It was COLD in Texas. REALLY cold. However, with simple planning for reliability, Texans could have possibly prevented multiple pipe-freezing failures that are continuing to plague many as we thaw out from Winter Storm Uri. Hopefully, my story and observations of our collective pipe-freezing situation will remind us…
Encourage employees and clients to ask why and listen with respect. Challenge everything. It shows you care, forces others to listen to their own convictions, and you’ll probably learn something. The corollary to this is it only works if you listen. If you wouldn’t let your kids do it, you shouldn’t do it. Process safety…
One of the elements of the PSM standard that most people are familiar with is Management of Change (MOC). The purpose of the MOC process is to provide a systematic way to manage changes to the process unit that are not “replacements in kind”. This process is managed differently by most companies, and sometimes, managed…
As the famous artist, Vincent Van Gogh, said, “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” The “small things” in process engineering are no different and can have a big influence on a project’s bottom line. The impact of process engineering on the economics of a capital project is often overlooked…
Several years ago, while working in a refinery, I noticed a relief valve with its inlet block valve completely closed. I radioed an operator for assistance. Within minutes, two operators arrived and confirmed that the valve should not be closed. They opened the valve and thanked me for notifying them. In following up a…
Picture this…you’ve begun work with a manufacturing facility, and you notice that the facility doesn’t seem to have a robust inspection program. As you dig a little deeper, you find that inspections have been done in the past; however, there are no records that anything has been done to that equipment since inspection. In the…
Energy organizations such as chemical manufacturers, oil and gas production, and even pharmaceutical manufacturers strive to maintain a Process Safety Management (PSM) program to ensure the safety of their employees and those around their facilities. Many of these organizations are familiar with the requirements of PSM including the process of conducting Process Hazard Analysis (PHA)…
At every facility, there is a point during the process hazard analysis when the team inevitably dives into “the black hole” of flare/relief/scrubber systems. Following strict HAZOP analysis methodology, a team documents all deviations from normal operating limits. However, with most relief systems, this leaves the team facing numerous causes, and with each source, having…
When performing a process hazard analysis (PHA), often people of different positions and specializations are gathered in the meeting room to assess the chosen process on its safety and ability to safeguard against inherent hazards. These groups can include personnel from maintenance, operations, engineering, HS&E (Health, Safety, and Environmental), and management. This diversity of thought…
Engineers have a bad rap regarding crimes against the literary world. While it may be true a good percentage of the time that engineers prefer to use their writing implements to solve an equation rather than pen a technical masterpiece of prose, it is not an absolute fact that all engineers create a vacuum when…
For facilities having to comply with the 1910.119 Process Safety Management (PSM) mandate of 1992, Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs) are required to be revalidated every five years after the initial effort. To refresh your memory, the mandate requires that Process Safety Information (PSI) be compiled and verified as accurate prior to conducting the initial PHA.…
A scenario recently came up in one of our HAZOP / LOPA studies that made me question how well our industry risk assesses utility systems.
One of the challenges in relief valve sizing is ensuring the stability of the relief valve.
A pressure relief device is the last layer of defense in chemical plants, refineries, and upstream facilities. Documentation of relief system design is required by OSHA to ensure safe plant operation.
An important part of Process Safety Information (PSI) is verifying your Process and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs), Electrical Area Classification (EACs), and Facility Sitings are current and accurate.
The point of education is not just to learn facts or be able solve math problems, but to develop skills that make us better, more well-rounded individuals. So, with that said, the next time that a recent college or high school graduate complains about having had to learn, “things they will never use again,” remind them that the critical thinking and reasoning skills that they developed are more important than the actual information they had to study.
The benefits of trying drone technology far outweigh the risks, and with ever increasing pressure on cutting costs, drones provide a unique opportunity to improve productivity and deliver cost savings.
There is a crucial difference between looking at your P&IDs and reading your P&IDs. When was the last time you sat down and actually read your P&IDs? Have you taken the time to go line-by-line and understand what the P&IDs are depicting? We can imagine your answers to these questions, so next ask yourself, —…
