Processing, July 2019

Solve Tough Bulk Material Hard Way Easy Way Not a Step Drop the Hammer and contact us for a detailed AirSweep System proposal engineered specifi cally for your application Sales@ ControlConceptsUSA com 860 928 6551 Eliminate ratholes bridging blockages and material buildup in silos hoppers chutes vibratory conveyors and other bulk material processing equipment Ensure on demand fl ow of the toughest powder and bulk materials Mounted and maintained from vessel exterior No damage vibration stress or wear to vessel walls Energy effi cient uses plant air Watch Demo 24 Processing JULY 2019 360 activation of material up to 8 ft diameter AirSweepSystems com Videos at MATERIAL ACTIVATION SYSTEMS AirSweep is a Division of Flow Problems In a cyber context perhaps the hazard is that sensors used to indicate dangerous levels of certain substances become disabled as a result of hacking technical malfunctions or user error e consequences might include damage to machinery or other equipment or even injury to personnel A worst case scenario could involve an explosion that injures or kills people and releases toxins into the environment The consequences would of course vary depending on the speci cs of the plant in question as would the third element probability This refers to the likelihood of an incident occurring In process safety this is a real number from 0 to 1 If an event is nearly certain the probability assigned is near 1 if it is almost impossible nearly 0 The example above demonstrates the complexity of industrial hazards and underscores the importance of cooperation between environment health and safety EHS IT and operations teams when confronting cyberthreats There are no longer welldefined lines of demarcation among these divisions the success of one in combatting hazards is dependent on the others Interconnectivity means interdependence e process safety life cycle is typically conceptualized as four continuously repeating phases Figure 4 The simplicity of Figure 4 belies the complexity of the task however For instance identifying hazards has to go beyond the super cial to be e ective and this requires experience and expertise Current process safety management uses tools such as hazard identification HAZID hazard and operability study HAZOP control hazard and operability study CHAZOP and failure mode and effects analysis FMEA to facilitate this step and these tools demand the input of professionals with an intimate knowledge of the processes in question When processes are automated or digitalized not only must health and safety o cials and operations supervisors have a place at the table but cyber experts must as well The same goes for the second phase risk assessment Here too process safety specialists have developed instruments such as safety integrity level SIL Accepting nominations www ProcessingMagazine com breakthrough products awards 2 0 1 9 Submit new or improved product solutions by Sept 30 Figure 3 Formula for calculating risks Figure 4 Continuously repeating phases of process safety life cycle