Cal/OSHA's PSM Regulation: Facility Siting and Revalidation

Facility siting is a required component of the process hazard analysis (PHA) element of process safety management (PSM) and addresses hazards to occupied buildings from explosion, fire and toxic releases. Facilities changes, such as new process units, changing process conditions and changes in occupied buildings, make it important to revalidate the facility siting study.

Revalidation can address major site improvements as well as other changes. For example, the facility siting process may comprise several studies that began with a traditional analysis method, and then progressed to detailed fire, explosion and/or dispersion modeling, and which can be combined into a single comprehensive report with final remediation recommendations. The revalidation can take into account any risk or hazard mitigation implementations since the initial work was issued. For example, API RP-752 includes a requirement to develop and implement a mitigation plan, and the revalidated study can track the effects of those changes. Revalidation also can assess the effectiveness of the management of change (MOC) system to identify changes to the site that influence facility siting.

In this webinar, our Extreme Loads and Structural Risk team will discuss the different ways to approach revalidations studies, what sites should expect during revalidation, and the additional opportunities/insights that can be recognized beyond the study itself.

Presenters

Mark Whitney

Mark Whitney is Director of Business Development for Advanced Engineering at ABS Group. Whitney's career has focused on the analysis of explosion effects and the design of protective structures. He has performed evaluations for compliance with explosion safety and siting standards for petroleum, chemical and government situations. He has supported dozens of fire and explosion large loss incident investigations, with activities including field surveys of damage, monitoring evidence collection, and modeling to support the root cause investigation. Whitney served on the technical committees that developed API-752, 753 and 756 recommended practices for facility siting of permanent buildings, portable buildings and tents, respectively.

Michael Weinberg

Michael Weinberg is Project Manager, Advanced Engineering for ABS Group. He has performed facility siting, flammable/toxic dispersion modeling, explosion analysis and fire modeling. He has specialized in computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling for dispersion and vapor cloud explosions at a range of facilities including refineries, chemical plants and pharmaceutical plants. Weinberg has experience in accident investigations involving site preservation, evidence collection, evidence storage and modelling potential failure paths.

About ABS Group

ABS Group of Companies, Inc. (ABS Group) and its operating subsidiaries provide risk management solutions and certification services worldwide that help clients address the safety, integrity, quality and environmental efficiency of critical assets and operations. Headquartered in Spring, Texas, ABS Group operates with more than 1200 professionals across the globe, serving the marine and offshore, oil, gas and chemical, government, power and energy and industrial sectors. ABS Group is a subsidiary of ABS (www.eagle.org), a leading marine and offshore classification society.