The Benefits of a Baseline Hazardous Area Classification Assessment for a Facility with Limited Resources

OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119 became US law in 1992. It defined a “covered process” and dictated Process Safety Management (PSM) rules to Owners of any covered process. These PSM rules included a list of required process safety information (PSI) and electrical classification (or the preferred title hazardous area classification) was on the PSI list. Most of the time the ownership of PSI, specifically hazardous area classification (HAC), has been assigned based on convenience. This method of assigning ownership and management of PSI has often had a negative impact on facilities with limited resources. For example, an electrical engineer is often the de facto custodian of HAC even though performing an HAC study has nothing to do with electricity!

This presentation identifies the misconceptions associated with HAC and provides a unique four (4) step approach for addressing them. These steps include understanding the 14 basic PSM elements, using HAC terminology to minimize confusion, using a “Common Sense Approach” for HAC and HAC compliance assessments, and communicating HAC-related PSI via a team approach. Implementation of the four steps is critical and the importance of a baseline HAC assessment in the overall communication and management of facility PSI is discussed.