Amplify Your Process Safety

The final part of our mini deep dive into different aspects of Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs) is finally here. In today's episode, Molly and Magi talk PHA safeguards, including hierarchy of controls, common types of safeguards (including how and when operator response can be credited in a PHA), quantitative vs. qualitative risk assessment for safeguard effectiveness, independent protection layer (IPL) requirements, and their best tips for safeguard considerations based on their own PHA facilitation experience.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out our other PHA-related episodes mentioned in today's show:

Thanks for listening, and please let us know what you think at ⁠[email protected]⁠.

This episode is the second of a three part series in which Molly and Magi take a deep dive into different aspects of Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs). In today's episode, they talk PHA consequences, including some common pitfalls to avoid when it comes to considering consequences in a PHA, general types of impacts used for PHA consequences, tools to use for defining impacts, and some consequence-related PHA best practices.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out our other PHA-related episodes mentioned in today's show:

And please follow our show so you can tune in to the final, third part of this mini-series when it becomes available in two weeks. Thanks for listening, and please let us know what you think at [email protected].

This episode is the first of a three part series in which Molly and Magi take a deep dive into different aspects of Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs). In today's episode, they talk PHA causes, including identifying causes of deviation in HAZOP, What-If, and Checklist methodologies, some common pitfalls they've observed regarding causes in PHAs, and what makes a cause not credible.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out our other PHA-related episodes:

And please follow our show so you can tune in to the next two parts as they become available. Thanks for listening, and please let us know what you think at [email protected].

In this episode, Rob and Magi cover the recent changes made to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Risk Management Program (RMP) Final Rule. The changes fall into four categories: the prevention program, emergency response, availability of information, and other areas of technical clarification. In this episode, they discuss each change, what each could mean for your facility going forward, and when each requirement must go into effect at your facility. If your site is subject to the RMP rule, you won't want to miss this episode.

Have a question about this week's episode, an idea for a future episode, or any process safety related question? Please drop us a line at [email protected].

In today's episode, Rob is joined by guest Shawn Marsh, Vice President of ESHQ Services North America at Evonik, a specialty chemicals manufacturer based in Germany, with production plants in 27 countries on six continents. Shawn explains how Evonik manages process safety and how he fits into that process, key metrics he uses to manage and measure process safety, the challenges of communicating process safety issues to individuals at different levels within his organization, his role in addressing process safety challenges at Evonik's North American sites, his advice for people in similar roles at other companies, and more.

For more on managing PSM from a corporate perspective, be sure to listen to Episode 41 - Managing Process Safety from Afar with Guest Tim Murphy.

In this episode, Rob sits down with Mat Todaro of Verrill Law, who listeners may remember from his previous guest appearances on the show related to EPA's Risk Management Program and General Duty Clause. Today Rob and Mat discuss EPA's National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (NECI) for 2024, including what they are and which initiatives are new, modified, and continued, what is different about how NECI will be managed this time around, what this means for RMP facilities who have ammonia, HF, or are near an overburdened community, and Mat's thoughts on the Supreme Court's recent overturning of the Chevron doctrine. If you haven't listened to our previous episodes featuring Mat, be sure to check them out at the links below:

Connect with Mat on LinkedIn here.

In this episode Magi and Jo team up to cover a recent CSB final report. In this incident breakdown, they cover the 2022 accidental release of naphtha that resulted in a fire, two worker fatalities, and significant property damage at the BP-Husky refinery in Oregon, Ohio, including what happened leading up to the event, contributing factors, recommendations the CSB made in their final report, and what companies can learn from this incident. Find the CSB's final report for this incident here.

If you haven't listened to our episodes where we interviewed the CSB, please check out Episode 101 and Episode 102.

In today's episode, Molly sits down with Stephen J. Wallace, the author of a newly released process safety thriller titled "Hazardous Lies". Although his book is a work of fiction, Stephen discusses how his book relates to real aspects of process safety and how it was informed by his real career experience in the process safety field, how he came up with the idea for the novel, his leap from technical writing in his career to creative writing, and how he made technical topics in the book accessible to non-technical readers. Stephen also shares his advice for those branching out from a technical field into a more creative role, and his advice for those who wish to steer their careers toward process safety.

You can purchase "Hazardous Lies" on Amazon here, or you can visit https://stephenjwallace.com/ to purchase the book or to learn more about Stephen.

In this episode, Rob is joined again by guest Mike Washington, who is the Director of Industrial Safety at Arkema Inc., The Americas. Mike recently gave a talk at the AIChE Global Congress on Process Safety in New Orleans in March 2023 titled, “Quantitative Natural Disaster Assessment and Scorecard for Chemical Plants," and today discusses some of what he covered in that talk. Rob and Mike cover his motivation for presenting at the AIChE Global Congress on Process Safety, the basic approach of the assessment and scorecard, how Arkema is using the tool and how the plants have reacted to it, and advice he has for other companies struggling with planning for and reducing the risks of natural hazards.

If you haven't caught our previous episode with Mike, be sure to listen to Episode 96 - Educating the Next Generation of Process Safety Experts with Guest Mike Washington.

Mike invites you to connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-washington-m-b-a-067b2520/

To hear more about this topic, be sure to listen to these episodes:

Episode 26 - Natural Hazard Assessment and Planning

Episode 66 - Tornadoes, Natural Hazards, and Emergency Planning

In this episode, we sit down for another conversation with the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB). This time, Molly and Jo talk with Supervisory Chemical Incident Investigator Lauren Johnson, Chemical Incident Investigator Melike Yersiz, P.E., and Video Producer and Public Affairs Specialist Shauna Lawhorne. We discuss how each CSB employee ended up at the agency, what a company can expect when the CSB comes to investigate an incident, some examples of how and when subject matter experts are used to assist with investigations, what has most surprised each of them during the course of their investigations, and how recommendations are tracked and managed. Then we get to ask everything we've been wondering about the CSB videos; how the CSB decides which investigations get a video, how they condense the investigation's material down, some details about the iconic narrator, and more.

A heartfelt thank you to all three CSB guests for their appearances on this episode, and to CSB Communications Manager, Hillary Cohen. To learn more about the CSB, please visit csb.gov, and if you haven't already be sure to check out our previous episode with the CSB: "Episode 101 - Conversations with the CSB - Part 1". To learn more about the CSB's accidental release reporting rule, and to access the published data, visit https://www.csb.gov/news/incident-report-rule-form-/.