(54p) Managing Process Safety in Dynamic Environments

How can process safety be effectively managed in an environment where process parameters are in constant flux, the goalposts are shifted weekly, and the ability to deliver on time is not only expected, but a core part of your company’s business model?

In 2012, the Xerox Research Centre of Canada (XRCC) established their client services program, offering fee-for-service research, development, engineering, scale-up, and materials supply. The resulting influx of new processes at all stages in the developmental pipeline, from the lab bench to the pilot plant, put new and unforeseen pressure on the currently implemented process safety management system. Following a number of near miss incidents, it was apparent that the current system, designed to handle well established processes with detailed scale-up data, was inadequate for handling the new scenarios presented, and a fundamental shift in safety culture would be necessary to avoid future problems.

This paper tells the story of the transformation of XRCC’s process safety management system to cope with the one-two punch of increased demand and unfamiliar, oftentimes hazardous processes. The paper describes how XRCC’s implementation of a mandatory safety assessments for all client processes, process hazard analysis and management of change for all pilot plant processes, and increased percolation of safety culture throughout the organization, with top down support from both management and clients, have positively effected all aspects of the client services business.