PROCESS SAFETY MANAGEMENT LEARNING MODULE

Abstract

An engineer’s paramount duty is to protect the welfare of the public. This duty includes ensuring that technical systems are designed and operated as safely as possible. This is achieved by minimizing the risk of injury or harm to people, property and the environment. Process Safety Management (PSM) is a framework for managing process risks associated with the storage, handling and manufacturing of hazardous substances, but the general principles are not industry-specific. The ultimate goal of PSM is to prevent the occurrence of major hazard incidents for the lifetime of the process, regardless of changes in personnel, organization, or environment. In PSM, a hazard incident is the unintended release of harmful substances or energy from equipment that is meant to contain it. PSM requires organizational commitment, and active participation of all stakeholders. PSM is based on process knowledge combined with systematic hazard identification and risk analysis. Risk is a measure of the probability and severity of a hazard incident. While risk is never zero, it can be minimized by taking measures to reduce the probability of occurrence, and to limit the severity of the consequences. Measures to reduce risk include inherently safer design, improving operating procedures, safer work practices, improving maintenance procedures and process documentation, improving management of change, and planning for responding to incidents. PSM systems undergo continuous improvement by incorporating lessons from hazard incidents, measuring and auditing performance, and generally learning from experience. Western University has developed a learning module on Process Safety Management to introduce engineering students to these important concepts. The module has been developed using PowerPoint, and is fully editable by instructors to suit specific learning objectives. The module includes numerous case studies to illustrate important PSM concepts, and a library of sample quiz questions is also included.