Chapter 1 - Maintenance

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the inadequate maintenance and preparation of distant chemical plants. With appropriate examples and citations, the chapter discusses mistakes that led to accidents, commissioning, dismantling, and other hidden hazards in the chemical plants. It describes in detail some accidents that were further worsened because the precautions were relaxed too soon, failure to isolate resulted in a fire, or an unintentional isolation. The report describes some well-known information that was apparently not known to the people, like a small quantity of flammable gas or vapor can cause a large explosion with severe consequences, especially when the fuel is confined; consideration should be given to double blocks and a drain on blinding installations that are troublesome or highly sensitive to leakage, the double block and drain (or vent) do not remove the need for more positive isolation by blinding, it makes the fitting of blinds safer and is adequate for quick jobs, but not for extended ones, such as turnarounds; valves are the mainstay of any plant and trying to stop leaks with excessive torque will damage the pipes even more. The chapter also discusses the changes in procedure.