Process Safety : Key Concepts and Practical Approaches

Effective process safety programs consist of three interrelated foundations—safety culture and leadership, process safety systems, and operational discipline—designed to prevent serious injuries and incidents resulting from toxic releases, fires, explosions, and uncontrolled reactions. Each of these foundations is important and one missing element can cause poor process safety performance.

Process Safety: Key Concepts and Practical Approaches takes a systemic approach to the traditional process safety elements that have been identified for effective process safety programs. More effective process safety risk reduction efforts are achieved when these process safety systems, based on desired activities and results rather than by specific elements, are integrated and organized in a systems framework. This book provides key concepts, practical approaches, and tools for establishing and maintaining effective process safety programs to successfully identify, evaluate, and manage process hazards.

It introduces process safety systems in a way that helps readers understand the purpose, design, and everyday use of overall process safety system requirements. Understanding what the systems are intended to achieve, understanding why they have been designed and implemented in a specific way, and understanding how they should function day-to-day is essential to ensure continued safe and reliable operations.

• Explores key concepts and practical approaches for achieving safe and reliable operations, based on design, implementation, and improvement of process safety systems
• Evaluates potential gaps between the practical approaches presented in this book and the current requirements in a facility to identify continuous improvement opportunities for achieving improved process safety performance
• Presents the foundations of effective process safety programs, including safety culture and leadership, process safety systems, and operational discipline
• Describes an integrated, systemic approach based on desired system goals and activities when applying the traditional process safety elements
• Includes case studies and summaries that help to increase awareness, understanding, and prevention of process incidents
• Provides guidance for meeting regulatory and corporate process safety requirements to identify, evaluate, and manage process hazards for safe and reliable operations

Preface : A Different Approach

Part I : Key Concepts of Process Safety
Chapter 1 : Introduction to Process Safety
Chapter 2 : Process Safety Culture, Leadership and Performance
Chapter 3 : Process Safety Systems
Chapter 4 : Operational Discipline

Part II : Practical Approaches for Designing Safe Processes
Chapter 5 : Design Safe Processes
Chapter 6 : Identify and Assess Process Hazards
Chapter 7 : Evaluate and Manage Process Risks

Part III : Practical Approaches for Implementing Process Safety
Chapter 8 : Operate Safe Processes
Chapter 9 : Maintain Process Integrity and Reliability
Chapter 10 : Change Processes Safely
Chapter 11 : Manage Incident Response and Investigation
Chapter 12 : Monitor Process Safety Program Effectiveness

Part IV : Practical Approaches for Achieving Process Safety Excellence
Chapter 13 : Develop Personal Capability
Chapter 14 : Commit to a Safe Future

Epilogue : Why Process Safety?
Index