Jargon: Keeping it Simple

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”  — often misattributed to Albert Einstein I don’t spend much time in court rooms. I’m not a lawyer. I tend toward law-abiding behavior, so I’ve not been a defendant. I refuse to be an expert witness. (Lawyers seem to want me to follow [...]

By |2024-02-01T12:56:46-06:00February 1st, 2024|Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Jargon: Keeping it Simple

Heavy Metal: What Is It?

“Heavy metal? Like Rock of Ages?”  — Isis Hainsworth in Metal Lords It’s hard to pin down a definition of heavy metal, whether you are talking about the rock-n-roll genre, or elements from the periodic table. Serious fans (of either the music or the elements) can argue at length about what is meant by the [...]

By |2023-12-28T11:14:13-06:00December 28th, 2023|Chemicals, Process Safety|Comments Off on Heavy Metal: What Is It?

Crossing Streams: Safety During Simultaneous Operations

“Don’t cross the streams.” -Egon from Ghostbusters It doesn’t take much for two tasks to interfere with one another out in general industry. Work environments can be quite hectic as the end of a fiscal year approaches, where multiple goals and tasks are being wrapped up. Plant life is not much different, except some of [...]

By |2023-11-02T09:34:25-05:00November 2nd, 2023|Chemicals, Procedures, Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Crossing Streams: Safety During Simultaneous Operations

Cameras: Like A Watched Pot

“Notice. All Activities Monitored By Video Camera.”  — Various Department Store Surveillance Signs The adage that a watched pot never boils is false. The boil will occur, regardless of whether someone is observing it. Watching the pot appears to increase the time it takes to boil, especially if that is the only task that the [...]

By |2023-10-12T09:47:05-05:00October 12th, 2023|Process Safety, Process Safety Management, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Cameras: Like A Watched Pot

Too Many Players on the Field: PHA Teams

“Meetings should have as few people as possible, but all the right people.”  — Charles W. Scharf Ever been in a Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) meeting where there were over a dozen people? Wasn’t it excruciating? Either you wondered why you needed to be there, or you wondered why some of the other people needed [...]

By |2023-08-24T15:09:17-05:00August 24th, 2023|PHA, Process Safety Management|Comments Off on Too Many Players on the Field: PHA Teams

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble: Hatch Additions

“Ideas nearly always seem brilliant when they’re hatched, so we never act on a new idea for at least twenty-four hours.”  — Steven D. Levitt Batch processes often rely on additions through open hatches for ingredients that don’t lend themselves to being pumped in through a pipe. These include liquid ingredients used in small quantities [...]

By |2023-08-17T15:01:00-05:00August 17th, 2023|Chemicals, Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Double, Double, Toil and Trouble: Hatch Additions

A Flurry of Activity: Recent CSB Final Reports

“Once you start something, finish it. Don’t accumulate a backlog of unfinished projects.”  — Ed Bliss If you are on the Chemical Safety Board’s distribution list, you may have noticed a lot of trade releases from the CSB in your in-box during the last few weeks. They’ve been busy. A recent press release proudly announced [...]

By |2023-08-11T12:40:08-05:00August 11th, 2023|Current Events, Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on A Flurry of Activity: Recent CSB Final Reports

Losing It: Drain Valves and Vent Valves

“Among our articles of lazy hardware, I recommend the faucet that stops dripping when no one is listening to it.”  — Marcel Duchamp Piping systems need drain and vent valves. For start-up, shutdown, maintenance, and other reasons. A piping system without appropriate drain and vent valves won’t work properly and is an exposure hazard for [...]

By |2023-08-11T18:47:07-05:00June 29th, 2023|PHA, Process Safety|Comments Off on Losing It: Drain Valves and Vent Valves

But They Will Still Burn: Class IIIB Liquids

“Restaurant kitchens have grease fires all the time. A little oil on a burner, and you clear out a restaurant without raising too much suspicion or causing too much damage…Still, it’s best not to stick around too long after you’ve set a kitchen on fire.”  — Michael Westen, on Burn Notice It’s hard to get [...]

By |2023-08-14T18:29:51-05:00June 1st, 2023|Chemicals, Process Safety Management|Comments Off on But They Will Still Burn: Class IIIB Liquids

Cracking the Code: AI’s Breakthrough in Process Safety

“Some people call this artificial intelligence, but the reality is this technology will enhance us. So instead of artificial intelligence, I think we’ll augment our intelligence.” —Ginni Rometty Artificial Intelligence is having a moment in the public sphere. OpenAI’s ChatGPT text predictor has led to many competitors and skews that other companies can use to [...]

By |2023-08-11T17:22:50-05:00May 25th, 2023|Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Cracking the Code: AI’s Breakthrough in Process Safety
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