Unexpected releases of flammable, explosive, poisonous, and dangerously reactive chemicals can result in catastrophic events that can pose a major risk to plant staff, the environment, and the plant community. Federal regulations require that companies have a Process Safety Management program in place, as well as a Risk Management plan:
- OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119 (Process Safety Management)
- EPA 40 CFR Part 68 (Risk Management Plan)
Companies are under constant pressure from their communities, from the government, and from their competitors to continually improve the safety of their processes. The most essential step in ensuring federal compliance and protecting workers is conducting a Process Hazard Analysis – a systematic and organized series of assessments designed to evaluate the risks of a process.
By implementing a ranking of potential hazards and evaluating process units on the basis of chemical and equipment risk, Mihir Consulting achieves a qualitative comprehension of plant hazards. From that stage, a quantitative assessment of process risk is carried out to fully characterize the plant’s safety and develop recommendations for improvement.
Mihir Consulting PHA facilitators and scribes have extensive knowledge of industry codes and standards (API 526, ASME Sec I & VIII, and so on) to assist in identifying and resolving potential safety and operability hazards, as well as major items that may affect the project’s detailed design, schedule, or cost.
Mihir Consulting’s approach to safety relies on:
- Minimization: of amounts of hazardous substances used and employee exposure to chemical hazards
- Methodology: implementing the proper training and operating protocols
- Design: engineering processes with safety in mind from the earliest stage possible
The most effective risk management focuses on not only standard operation, but also deviant operation as a result of system disturbances such as power failure, mechanical failure, level surges, and so on. Furthermore, it focuses on potential sources of system disturbances, such as human error, instrumentation issues, equipment specifications, and utilities.
The five major methodologies that Mihir Consulting implements in its PHA studies are as follows: