Category Archives: Compliance

Regulatory Compliance

IIAR 2-2014, Addendum A Third Public Review

The IIAR has announced a 3rd Public Review of Standard BSR/IIAR 2-2014, Addendum A, Standard for Safe design of Closed-Circuit Ammonia Refrigeration Systems. This brings some interesting changes to IIAR 2 . Two of these proposed changes are : Clearing up the … Continue reading

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Properly Addressing Findings / Recommendations

Process Safety managers are often buried under a torrent of Findings and Recommendations from PSM/RMP elements such as Employee Participation (EP), Process Hazard Analysis (PHA), Pre-Startup Safety Review (PSSR), Incident Investigations (II), and Compliance Audits (CA). In compliance audits over … Continue reading

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Is a condenser change a Replacement in Kind?

The Question: Imagine a project where you are going to replace an existing condenser with a newer model. Does this “change” trigger the MOC element or does it fall into the Replacement in Kind exemption to the MOC requirement? This … Continue reading

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Yet another update on the RMP Updates!

Today, EPA’s Administrator, E. Scott Pruitt, signed a new proposed rule, further changing the Obama-era EPA’s proposed changes and the EPA is submitting that for publication in the Federal Register (FR). Basically, it outlines two proposals for the Obama-era EPA’s … Continue reading

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What you need to know about Repeat Citations

First, what is a Repeat Citation? Here’s what OSHA has to say about it in their Field Operations Manual or FOM: An employer may be cited for a repeated violation if that employer has been cited previously for the same … Continue reading

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General Duty vs. PSM/RMP: Is there a benefit to dropping below the 10,000lb threshold?

Several times a year I get a phone call or an email from a client that wants to lower the NH3 inventory below the federal 10,000lb threshold so they are no longer subject to the PSM/RMP rules. It’s a conversation … Continue reading

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IIAR 7 update now open for Public Review

November 10th, 2017 To: IIAR Members Re: First (1st) Public Review of Standard BSR/IIAR 7-201x, Developing Operating Procedures for Closed-Circuit Ammonia Refrigeration Systems. A first (1st) public review of draft standard BSR/IIAR 7-201x, Developing Operating Procedures for Closed-Circuit Ammonia Refrigeration Systems is now … Continue reading

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RAGAGEP Hierarchy in Application – A worked example

RAGAGEP (Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices/Principles) is extremely important to our Process Safety programs as it helps define the boundaries of what is (and isn’t) acceptable in our processes and our management of them. There seems to be … Continue reading

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PHA Worksheets Template updated

The Template What-If / Checklist worksheet used to guide PHA Studies has been modified. The Identification and Review of Past Incidents section has been renumbered with some new questions concerning the performance of the Incident Investigation element added before the example / … Continue reading

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Management Of Change (MOC) for Personnel

In response to a recent LinkedIn forum post, here’s a short discussion on why MOC should be implemented for some personnel changes. 1910.119(l)(1) The employer shall establish and implement written procedures to manage changes (except for “replacements in kind”) to … Continue reading

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