What are potential obstacles to building an effective Process Safety Management (PSM) program?
From what I’ve seen there are three related obstacles to building an effective PSM program. The first is engagement. It really takes commitment from everyone up and down the chain of command to build a best-in-class PSM program. Related to this is timely and relevant communication so that everyone from the shop floor up to the C-suite is on the same page. And the third obstacle is availability of decision-useful data.
In these days and times, knowing what we know, with most cars buzzing or beeping until the seat belt is fastened, why on earth would anyone choose to drive or ride without the obvious and easy protection that safety belts provide?
OSHA, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the State of North Dakota, and Bakken Basin Safety Consortium have signed an alliance to protect employees, and promote safety and health in the oil and gas industry.
The two-year alliance will target both employees and employers.
The goal behind the digital oilfield is to optimize oilfield operations through the provision and implementation of data and analysis tools. These digital methodologies are becoming more common in logistics and machinery monitoring - areas that can be translated from other industries. The Holy Grail still remains providing real-time, reliable production data.
"We see big opportunities to deploy innovative strategies and technologies to monitor, measure and ultimately prevent emissions," said Matt Kolesar, regulatory manager at ExxonMobil’s XTO Energy affiliate,
Since 2017, ExxonMobil has expanded its U.S. methane leak detection program, committed to its first global methane target, supported methane monitoring technology innovation and encouraged EPA to regulate methane emissions at new and existing sources.
Ethylene oxide (EtO) is a common, highly hazardous industrial chemical linked to breast cancer and immune system cancers like non-Hodgkin lymphoma and lymphocytic leukemia (see EPA IRIS Exec Summary, Dec 2016).
Concerned community members in Illinois made it a 2018 campaign issue after two federal agencies released studies showing elevated cancer risks outside Chicago.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will be assisting the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in its investigation of a fatal, Feb. 23, 2018, natural gas-fueled explosion in Dallas, Texas.
The USACE began taking soil samples this week in the area of Espanola Drive and Durango Drive in Dallas, to help the NTSB evaluate the technical accuracy of the preliminary geotechnical assessment report.
Most organizational leaders are aware of the direct impact that a dust explosion could have on their facility. Even when it is understood that hazards exist within a system and that protection measures have been recommended, a flawed cost-benefit analysis could result in no action being taken.
The fracking boom that’s made the U.S. the world’s top oil producer shows no signs of slowing down. But in Texas, the boom’s had what the state is calling an “unintended consequence," as oilfield highways have become overwhelmed with heavy truck traffic, there’s been an uptick in the number of deadly crashes. Officials are exploring solutions to this ongoing problem.
Dennis Mason's body was found, face down, between his truck and a crude oil tank at a well site near Kingfisher, Okla. Investigators immediately suspected he was killed by toxic vapors from the oil.
But they weren't able to prove it, because state medical examiners didn't test Mason's blood for petroleum chemicals before declaring his death natural, the result of heart failure.
OSHA inspectors had quickly sent word to the medical examiners that they suspected his death was related to his job hauling oil for Sunoco Logistics Partners.
RSS
