HSE PRACTICES FOR OFFSHORE AND PETROLEUM INDUSTRIES SAFETY PRACTICES TUTORIAL: 12 COURSE CORDINATOR Prof. SRINIVASAN CHANDARSEKARAN B.E (civil engg)., M.Tech (Structural engg- IIT Delhi); Ph.D (IIT Delhi)., MiUR fellow (Min of Italian University Research, Italy)., M.ASCE Professor, Dept of Ocean Engg., Indian Institute of Technology Madras, INDIA 600036 Tel: (Off) 91-044-22574821, Fax: +91-044-22574802 email: drsekaran@iitm.ac.in Home page: http://www.drsekaran.com/
Tutorial: 12 Max marks: 20 Part A (1 Marks each) 1. What is holding purge? 2. What is a hot tap? 3. What is topping distillation of deposits and where is it required 4. What is confined space 5. What are the main objectives of process safety management Part B (3 Marks each) 1. What are the ways by which purging operations are carried out? 2. What is HOT Work and documents issued with Hot work permit? 3. What are the factors effecting the purging operation? 4. What are the safety measures taken during a lock-out/tag-out? 5. What are the software tools used in HSE management and their applicability?
SOLUTIONS Part A 1. Holding purge It is a procedure of maintaining inert gas/liquid in closed system during maintaining or repair. it is used to replace the normal combustible material 2. A special machine used for cutting into a pipeline containing combustible gas/liquid. The machine is attached to special fittings that are welded to the pipeline. It is employed to cut a required size of opening in the loaded pipeline 3. During the purging of volatile material such as naphthalene, tar, oils, solvents etc, the container is heated to a temperature such that no further vaporization of content takes place. this is called as topping distillation of deposits. It is required during the steaming of the chamber prior to purging, using steam as purging gas, admitting the purge gas at a elevated temperature. 4. A confined space is an enclosed or partially enclosed space that is not primarily designed or for human occupancy and has a restricted entrance or exit by way of location, size or means. 5. main objectives of process safety management to identify, evaluate, prevent and respond to release of hazardous chemicals in work place. Part B 1. Purging operation is carried in two ways i.e. purging by displacement and purging by dilution/mixture. Purging by displacement: It purges the air out of the container through exits or vents, so that little or no mixing of the purge gas with the original contents takes place. Quantity of purge gas required is approximately equal to air/gas present in the container. Factor effecting the purging operation are the size & shape of vessel and nature of gases involved in the operation. Purging by mixing/dilution: It is carried out by pressurizing & depressurizing the purge gas in a no of cycles. It is one of the safest ways of purging operations. Quantity of purge gas required is approximately equal to 5 times the free space in chamber. It is a delayed and time consuming operation and it is also expensive. 2. Hot Work is any work that involves burning, welding, using fire- or spark-producing tools, or that produces a source of ignition. Welding and cutting operations are common to maintenance and servicing operations. For such jobs hot work permits are issued to contractors due to specialized nature of work. Various documents that need to be issued along with Hot work permit at different stages of Hot work are Pre- work stage communication: containing list of simultaneous operations, procedure for air /gas testing, information about equipment isolation, list of identified hazards and information on emergency procedures
Work in progress stage: contains posting of the permit, procedure for air /gas testing, details about Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE), details about fire watch, details about spl procedure and precautions to be followed Return to service stage: pre job meeting needs to be held with the crew, no welding/cutting at locations close to flammable liquids. General guidelines: only qualified & trained persons should be allowed, use of appropriate PPE, Location specific safety measures need to be followed 3. Factors effecting purging operations Time of contact: duration of contact between the purge gas and the original gas. It has to be maintained as low as possible. Input velocity: the size of the inlet of purge gas has to be as large as possible. the input velocity needs to be maintained at 0.6 to 1.0 m/s to keep the agitation of the contents to the minimum. Density of gases: The relative densities of the purge gas and the original gas has a significant effect on the purging operation. The purge gas having a higher specific gravity to the original gas helps in thorough mixing which in-turn improves the purging operation. Temperature effects: The temperature of purge gas entering a large chamber should be kept as low as practical to avoid thermal currents. 4. Lock out/ tag out: They are labels, to warn the personnel that a segment of the operation line or equipment under maintenance. It is a safety practice to avoid hazardous situation. Following are the safety measures taken during a lock-out/tag-out locks /tags should be placed in a identifiable manner Should be located/pasted on the equipment/service areas which are under lockout Tags should include job title, nature of maintenance, agency carrying the maintenance, emergency numbers etc. Personnel should be specially trained to work in lock out areas to avoid accidents Tags/lock needs to be removed by the same personnel that has installed it. Tags should be only removed after thorough verification of completion of process 5. Various software tools used in HSE management CMO compliance: The tool is designed to meet the requirements of HSE mgmt team in preparing a driving workforce in case of emergency evacuation, HSE practices as a culture, intricacies on hot work permit. The tool checks the safety practices prescribed as per international safety regulations Spiramid EHS program: Commonly used tool for integrated HSE solutions. deals with trends in hazard mgmt, risk mgmt. powerful reporting tool for HSE mgmt. any changes/ modifications made in the process in terms of imposing treats to safety can be easily detected
Integrum: It is a comprehensive risk, compliance and business optimization platform which helps in integrated management systems for Safety, Health, Environment, Quality, Risk & Compliance of businesses of all sizes. it is web based tool, which helps for better management of safety from any location and to share information across. RIVO HSE management software: RIVO provides total safety management. It includes audit management, corrective/ preventive actions, hazard management control, risk assessment and prevention, industrial safety, environmental management, OSHA record keeping.