PROCESS SAFETY MANAGEMENT EHS COMMUNICATOR
Issue 4
2
Process
Safety
Management
EHS
Communicator
June 2015
PROCESS SAFETY MANAGEMENT
IN THIS ISSUE
December 2014
Maintenance Systems
This issue represents the 4th Edition of the
Process Safety Management – EHS
Communicator. The intent of this internal
publication is to provide updates, guidance,
information and reference material to the
University community impacted by the
Process Safety Management (PSM) initiative.
Please feel free to share the document and
forward any comments/questions to the EHS
Dept. Note – electronic version available
through EHS Webpage (www.ehs.psu.edu/) .
Maintenance Systems
It is recognized that with all equipment, at
some point during its operations,
maintenance work must be performed. This
could take the form of Preventive
Maintenance (PM) or repair maintenance
work. Both types are required to maintain
the safe operation of the equipment in
question or repair some part of the
equipment that is or has failed. Since this
activity represents a deviation from standard
operating conditions for the equipment, the
activity presents unique hazards both to the
individual(s) conducting the activity and to
the normal operation of the equipment.
The PSM Maintenance Systems program
(PSM Element #12) has been developed to
outline the requirements for University
employees working on or around covered
process areas.
Maintenance Systems
Overview of the Maintenance System Element within
the PSM Program
The primary purpose of this element is to
clearly identify the work that is scheduled to
take place (i.e. seal replacement on a pump),
assess and control the specific hazards
associated with the work (i.e. electrical –
requiring Lockout/Tagout procedures to be
followed), and to communicate the activities
to appropriate site personnel.
Due to the special requirements for
maintenance activities within a PSM covered
process area, only approved University
employees are authorized to work on the
equipment. These individuals are designated
as “Authorized Employees” and require
annual training to ensure they fully
understand the key PSM program elements
that impact these types of activities (e.g.
Management of Change, Mechanical
Integrity, Emergency Preparedness, etc.) and
specific hazards associated with the covered
process areas.
Prior to beginning any non-routine
maintenance activity, a Safe Work Permit
(SWP) must be completed. The SWP must
be jointly completed by the individual(s)
conducting the work and the equipment
operators. For additional information on the
SWP, please refer to Issue 2 (Feb. 2015) of
the “PSM - EHS Communicator”.
Page 1
Mechanical Integrity
Brief overview of the Mechanical Integrity Element and
the critical role it plays within the PSM Program
Page 2
PROCESS SAFETY MANAGEMENT EHS COMMUNICATOR | Issue 4
MAINTENANCE SYSTEMS
Authorized Employee
All maintenance work on PSM covered process
equipment must be performed by a designated
Authorized Employee.
Mechanical Integrity
The on-going reliability of all University
equipment is extremely important to our
core mission of teaching, research and
service. Although all equipment is
important, certain equipment and operations
pose unique attributes that could have
significant consequences associated with
breakdowns or failures. These could include
a significant shutdown of a specific operation
(i.e. ability to make ice to support the ice
rinks) or potential release of a hazardous
substance impacting students, employees or
the public.
What is Mechanical Integrity?
Mechanical Integrity or MI represents the
PSM program component (Element #11) that
outlines the requirements to ensure the ongoing reliability of process equipment. The
goal is to minimize or avoid premature
failure in certain process equipment that is
critical to the continued safe operation of a
process.
Covered Processes
Do you know the list of designated University covered
processes within the PSM program?
PSM – BY THE NUMBERS
Equipment used to process, store, handle or
control highly hazardous chemical /
biological agent needs to be designed,
constructed, installed and maintained to
minimize the risk of releases. MI is primarily
focused on maintaining the equipment in
proper safe working order through
implementation of the following element
components:
a)
5
Total number of PSM Metrics established by the PSM
Focus Group for 2015.
177
Total Number of PSM training hours provided by the
EHS Department for PSM program development and
implementation.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact: Charles Williams, Process Safety
Program Manager, EHS Dept. for more
information on Penn State’s PSM Program
865-6391 cmw33@psu.edu
2
b)
c)
d)
e)
Identification and categorization of
equipment and instrumentation
Written preventive and routine
maintenance procedures
Training for inspection, testing and
maintenance activities
Inspection and testing schedules
Correction of equipment
deficiencies identified
For each covered process area, a list of
equipment that is included within the MI
element must be generated. The list will
include all equipment that contains the
highly hazardous chemical / biological agent
or is critical to safe guarding the operation of
the process (e.g. ventilation fans, scrubber
systems, etc.). The following items shall be
included in the MI equipment list; however, it
is not intended to be an exhaustive list:
○ Pressure vessels (e.g. receivers,
compressors, boilers, heat
exchangers) and storage tanks,
○ Piping systems (including piping
components such as valves),
○ Emergency relief devices and vent
systems
○ Emergency shutdown systems
○ Controls (including monitoring
devices and sensors, alarms and
interlocks)
○ Pumps
○ Electrical system components
○ Safety systems (including fans, fire
suppression, etc.)
In addition, any other devices designated by
the facility/operation personnel for the
covered process as being potentially critical
(a device which is more likely than another to
result in or contribute to a major problem or
loss if not properly maintained) to the safe
operation of a process as a result of
operating history or identified through a
process hazard analysis.
Tracking MI Data
The PSM program provides some latitude for
work units to manage the information
required by the MI element. One logical
source of maintaining key equipment
information is Maximo. This powerful
software platform enables discrete data
management by equipment and can include
work procedures, defined PM requirements,
maintenance history and metric tracking.
Although Maximo can be a useful tool within
the MI element, it is recognized that certain
information must be available in hard copy
by the equipment operators in the field.
Examples include, Piping and
Instrumentation Diagrams (P&ID’s ) and safe
operating limits.
Please contact the EHS department to learn
more about MI requirements and the
established mechanisms to track equipment.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
issued an Enforcement Alert under the Clean Air
Acts – Risk Management Plan (RMP) program
associated with Anhydrous Ammonia at
Refrigeration Facilities. To view the complete
Alert use the following link:
http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/201502/documents/112renforcementalert.pdf