Compliance and Standards

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Overview

Process safety compliance is an important part of any Process Safety Management (PSM) program. These programs are mostly performance-based and non-prescriptive. They aim to help managers achieve high levels of safety, environmental performance and profitability. However, there are also many PSM regulations. This chapter describes some of these regulations and discusses how compliance can be achieved.

Process Safety Management (PSM) regulations are oriented toward helping managers achieve high levels of safety, environmental performance and profitability — in other words, they are performance-based. Nevertheless, PSM regulations do exist, and they have to be addressed. This chapter outlines general regulatory and compliance issues to do with PSM, particularly with regard to the United States OSHA standard.

In principle there should be no need for external rules and regulations — managers should strive to achieve process safety goals because they provide their own inherent reward. In practice, regulations are needed. Concerns to do with liability do influence behavior. Even in those facilities where management has the best of intentions there is always the temptation to put off safety and environmental work “until we have time”. A regulation will management’s feet to fire. If a plant has been running safely for many years, it is tempting to defer the rectification of hazards on the grounds that they have never been a problem in the past. Expenditures to correct these hazards do not lead to an immediate return on investment — they merely make an already low probability number even lower.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Regulations
   Rule-Based Approach
   Goal-Driven Approach
   Process Safety Regulations
Codes and Standards 
   Development of a Standard
   Standards Organizations
      American Chemistry Council / Responsible Care®
      American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
      American Petroleum Institute (API)
      American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
      International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
      National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
   Other Industry Sources
      Center for Chemical Process Safety
      Center for Offshore Safety
      Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
Company Standards
Industry Information
   Regulatory Guidance
   Open Literature
Commercial Information
Analysis
United States Federal Regulations
   The Regulatory Process
   Code of Federal Regulations
   General Duty Clauses 
   The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
   The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)
   OSHA Inspections
      Variances
      Enforcement
   The Entry Process
      Fatality / Catastrophe
      Programmed Inspections
      Complaints 
   Citations 
      Willful 
      Serious 
      Other-than-Serious 
      Repeat and Failure-to-Abate 
   OSHA Standards 
      Part 29 
      Subparts of Part 29
      Sections of Subparts
   Interpretations and Guidance
The OSHA PSM Standard
   Covered Processes
   Other Standards 
   Audit Guidelines 
   National Emphasis Programs 
   Proposed Update 
      1. Atmospheric Storage Tanks
      2. Oil- and Gas-Well Drilling and Servicing
      3. Oil- and Gas-Production Facilities
      4. Reactivity Hazards 
      5. Highly Hazardous Chemicals 
      6. Management System Elements
      7. RAGAGEP
      8. Definition of RAGAGEP 
      9. Safety-Critical Equipment
      10. Organizational Changes
      11. Emergency Planning 
      12. Third-Party Compliance Audits
      13. Explosives, Blasting Agents and Pyrotechnics
      14. Flammable Liquids and Spray Finishing
      15. Ammonium Nitrate
      16. Retail Facilities
      17. Concentrations of Highly Hazardous Chemicals
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The EPA Risk Management Program - 40 CFR 68
   Tiering / Program Levels 
   Covered Chemicals
   Formal Management System
   Worst Case Release
   Alternative Release Scenarios
   Lookup Tables
   Emergency Plan
   Five-Year Accident History
BSEE
State Regulations 
   New Jersey Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act
   Delaware/Nevada
The Safety Case Regime
   Elements of a Safety Case
      Duty-Holder Responsibility
      Responsibility of the Auditor / Assessor
      Risk Management System
      Management Systems
      Living Document
   Structure of a Safety Case
      1. Facility Description
      2. Safety Management System 
      3. Formal Safety Assessment
   Preparation and Implementation
   Assessment
   Performance Measurement
International Agencies
Elements of PSM 
   1. Employee Participation
      Written Plan of Action
      Consultation
      Access to Information
   2. Process Safety Information
   3. Process Hazards Analysis
      Initial Hazard Analysis
      Methodology
      Issues to Address
      Team
      Revalidation
   4. Operating Procedures
      Written Down 
      Initial Start-Up
      Temporary and Emergency Operations
      Certification
   5. Training
   6. Contractors
      Application
      Employer Responsibilities
   7. Prestartup Safety Review (PSSR)
      Process Safety Information
      Construction and Equipment
      Procedures 
      New / Modified Facilities
   8. Mechanical Integrity 
      Application
      Written Procedures
      Training
      Inspection and Testing
      Deficiencies
      Quality Assurance
   9. Hot Work
   10. Management of Change
      Employer Responsibility 
      Written Down
      Replacement In-Kind
      Factors that Affect Change
      Training and Participation / Accountability
      Information Base
      Operating Procedures
      Making the Change
      Training / PSI / Operating Procedures
   11. Incident Investigation
      Investigation
      Timing
      Team
      Report
      Follow Up
      Participation
   12. Emergency Planning and Response
   13. Compliance Audits
      Certification
      Technical Qualifications
      Report
      Response
      Retention of Reports