Technical Fundamentals of Process Safety

16 hours

This course focuses on the technical basis for process safety. It is intended to give a working background of the technical reasons for safety concerns to allow the student to understand the safety issues by improving and widening their background knowledge. It is intended for all levels of personnel including managers, sales personnel, crafts workers, and operators. The course focuses on those with limited technical background or experience.

1. Materials Properties
   a. Standard conditions
   b. Density
   c. Viscosity
   d. Freezing point
   e. Melting point
   f. Boiling point
   g. Pour point
   h. Pressure
2. Flammability Basics
   a. Flash points
   b. Autoignition temperatures
   c. Explosion types
   d. Explosive Limits
   e. Inerting
   f. Oxygen enriched atmospheres
   g. Classification of flammable and combustible liquids
3. Dusts
   a. Dust hazards
   b. Conditions required for an explosion
   c. Dust/Gas mixtures
   d. Explosion venting
   e. Dust behavior
   f. Dust codes
4. Reactive Materials
   a. Definition
   b. Types of hazards
   c. Common safeguards
   d. Overpressure protection
   e. Thermal runaway
   f. A bad example: T2 laboratories
   g. System safeguards
   h. Oxygen service
5. Toxicity and Chemical Exposure
   a. Definitions
   b. Major types of exposures
   c. Key issues
   d. Exposure paths
   e. Hierarchy of Protection
   f. PPE
   g. Allowable limits
6. Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment
   a. Generic hazard analysis
   b. What if hazard analysis
   c. HAZOP
   d. Fault tree/event tree analysis
   e. Failure modes, effects and criticality analysis
   f. Risk assessment issues
7. Interlocks and Safety Systems
   a. General considerations
   b. Separation of safety and control systems
   c. Types of interlocks
   d. Safety system requirements
   e. Layers of protection
   f. Safety system reliability
   g. Reliability levels
   h. Field devices
   i. Misc. issues
8. Over Pressure Protection
   a. Relief device sizing
   b. Relief device setting
   c. Relief device types
9. Code Compliance
   a. Types of codes and its implications
   b. Overview of common codes applicable to research operations
   c. OSHA
   d. EPA
   e. Building codes
   f. NFPA
   g. ASME
   h. Misc. codes
   i. Resolving Code Disputes
10. Gas Monitoring Systems
    a. Basic types
    b. Sensor placement issues
    c. System design issues
    d. Guidelines for effective systems