Facility Siting: Mitigation Planning and Implementation to Address Hazards

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. API RP-752 is the leading industry guidance for facility siting and includes a requirement to develop and implement a hazard mitigation plan. Some companies are already implementing mitigations through capital improvements, others are in the planning/evaluation phase, and some have not yet begun to develop a mitigation plan of action.

This webinar, delivered by our Extreme Loads and Structural Risk team, provides an overview of the remediation planning and implementation process. Join as we discuss the mitigation options that are available, such as process changes, building upgrades, occupancy changes and automated shutdown, as well as the following:

• Setting priorities for scheduling remediation actions (e.g., risk ranking, consequence impacts, coordination with other projects, etc.)
• Occupied building upgrades used to improve protection of occupants from explosion, fire and toxic hazards
• Use of conceptual designs and budgetary cost estimating as part of the decision-making process
• Examples of building upgrades that have been successfully implemented and a range of associated costs
• Lessons learned from past remediation projects

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.

W. Chris LeBoeuf

W. Chris LeBoeuf is a structural engineering consultant for Advanced Engineering at ABS Group. He is a licensed professional engineer in multiple states with over 15 years of professional experience specializing in dynamic analysis and design of structures and equipment to mitigate hazards from extreme loading events, including vapor cloud explosions, jet fires and bursting pressure vessels. LeBoeuf has performed over 50 site surveys to collect data on more than 500 buildings. He has worked closely with facility owners, architects and contractors to implement upgrades, from conceptual design through building commissioning. In addition, he has performed dynamic finite element analyses for a variety of related issues for petrochemical clients. LeBoeuf is a principal instructor for multiple short courses dedicated to understanding explosion effects and dynamic structural analysis, including Facility Siting and Consequence Modeling - API 752/753.

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.