Implementing into everyday engineering procedures, a broad-based understanding of the complex interaction of chemical process technology, mechanical integrity and process design, process control, and Process Safety Management Systems (PSMS) and by virtue of knowledge and experience, evaluate an integrated petrochemical process and:
Identify Hazards Related to:
- Overpressure/underpressure
- Thermal expansion and brittle fracture
- Fire and explosion
- Dust explosion
- Static electricity
- Human factors
- Chemical and reactive chemistry
- Toxic exposure
Evaluate the risk from those hazards, both qualitatively and quantitatively:
- Knowledge of previous incidents that have occurred in the company and industry
- Failure mechanisms that could lead to risks being realized
- Event scenarios that should be evaluated
- Sufficient and effective preventive and mitigative controls in place or needed
- Analyze the consequences and assignment of probabilities of those event scenarios
- Determine the risk associated with each event scenario
- Assess the significance of the risk posed by those scenarios and determine the action needed
Assist in the identification of and evaluation of cost-effective engineering solutions to reduce or mitigate those risks:
- Remove or reduce the hazard through inherently safer solutions
- Simplify the process
- Substitute less hazardous materials for more hazardous materials
- Operate at less hazardous operating conditions
- Reduce inventories
- Reduce the likelihood of risks by providing more or more effective layers of protection
- Reduce the consequence of risks by employing mitigating systems
- Apply Human Factors principles to reduce the error potential at the interfaces of people with equipment and Instrumentation
To successfully perform these functions by being knowledgeable in the following areas:
- Engineering Standards and Practices:
- Legislation and regulations
- Company engineering practices
- Industry Standards (API, etc.)
- Consensus Standards and Codes (ASME, ASTM, NFPA, ANSI, ISA, IEPC, EN, etc.)
- Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices (CCPS, etc.)
- Process Safety Management Systems
- Process Safety Performance Indicators (PSPIs) and analysis
- Human Factors:
- Human-machine concepts
- Principles of human error reduction
- Process Safety Technical Information:
- Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs)
- Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&IDs)
- Mechanical Drawings and plot plans
- Instrumentation and Electrical Diagrams
- Equipment Criticality Assessment
- Electrical Area Classification
- Inspection, Testing and Maintenance program
- Facility Siting and Equipment Spacing
- Relief System Design and Design Basis
- Material and Energy Balance
- Materials Envelope Statement/Safe Operating Envelope
- Properties and Hazards of Materials, including incompatibilities
- Safety Instrumented Function SIL Target and relevance to installation, inspection and maintenance
- Buildings blast resistance design basis
- Firefighting and associated facilities such as Sewer Design Basis
- Process Hazards Analysis Methodologies:
- Hazard Identification
- Hazard and Operability study (HAZOP)
- What-If Analysis
- Preliminary Hazards Analysis
- Checklist Analysis
- Inherent Safety Analysis
- Critical Task Analysis (CTA)
- Human Factors Review
- Management of Change (MOC)
- Pre-Startup Safety Review
- Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
- Technical Systems Analysis Methodologies:
- Safety Relief Valve and Flare Header analysis
- Fire Protection System analysis
- Safety Instrumented System quantitative analysis
- Risk Analysis and Assessment Methodologies:
- Conventional Fault Tree and Event Tree Analysis
- Socio-technical system approach of analysis of hazard controls
- Release and Dispersion Analysis
- Consequence Analysis, damage predition
- Qualitative, scenario-based risk assessments
- Quantitative risk assessments (QRA), inlc. domino effects and natural hazard triggered technological accidents (NaTech)
- Human and equipment failure data collection, data mining
- Causality, Bayesian analysis and networks
- Root-cause Incident Investigation techniques
- Dynamic risk assessment, risk dashboard
- Decision Analysis Methodologies:
- Benefit/Cost Analysis
- Legchart and checklists
- Expect elicitation
- Semi-quantitative Risk and Decision Analysis
- Machine learning and artificial intelligence data analysis
- Data-driven analysis of safety management system PSPIs
- Predictive Quantitative Risk and Decision Support methods
- Evaluating risk reducing options in the context of ALARP (As Low as Reasonably Practicable)
- Machine learning and artificial intelligence
Data-driven analysis of safety management systems typical work activities in Process Safety Engineering include:
- Site Level
- Audit key elements of process safety to ensure processes are being followed and are working as intended
- Ensure proper application of MOC and appropriate hazard analysis and risk assessments are performed on changes
- Confirm proper resolution and closure of recommendations from process safety studies, audits, and incident investigations
- Coordinate and ensure effective execution of hazard and risk assessment studies
- Ensure site personnel are trained and recognize their role in process safety
- Communicate and work with management to ensure leadership and proper emphasis on process safety, including employee participation
- Help prioritize actions to eliminate/mitigate process safety risks
- Ensure that projects fully address process safety in-design and satisfy process safety requirements
- Company/Central Engineering Services Level
- Provide specialist consulting service in safety and fire protection in the design, engineering, construction and Operation of chemical plants and refineries
- Provide on-call advice and recommendations on applicability and interpretation of both internal and external guidelines and standards
- Develop new criteria and guidelines
- Monitor additions and changes to codes and standards applicable to company operations
- Actively participate to influence and remain current with new developments and positions taken on updates to existing standards
- Assist in the implementation and improvement of Process Safety Management Systems
- Develop and deliver training and other presentations on Process Safety Management and related subjects
- Develop or assist in the development of new and updated tools for process safety applications and reviews
- Participate in or lead process hazards and other process safety analysis at existing sites and for new projects
- Participate in or lead formal Risk Assessments of existing operations
- Represent the Company in outside professional process safety organizations (CCPS, EPSC, IPSG, etc.), research consortia (MKOPSC, Wharton, etc.), and process safety committees of trade organizations (API, ACC, TCC, SOCMA, etc.)
- Develop and maintain contacts with other companies to remain abreast of Industry Best Practices
- Provide Process Safety advice related to ongoing site risk management
