HAZOP Methodology Based on the Health, Safety, and Environment Engineering

Measuring risk of renewable diesel production processes using a multi-criteria decision strategy

This study proposes measuring the risk of five alternative renewable diesel production technologies using a multi-criteria decision matrix strategy. Evaluated criteria include environmental, economic, technological, social, and process safety risks. The subjective Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with stakeholder input provides criteria and sub-criteria weightings and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) ranks alternatives. Alternative renewable diesel options are Green Diesel from first, second, and third-generation feedstocks, Fischer-Tropsch Diesel from second-generation biomass, and the transesterification of vegetable oils (VO) to make biodiesel. This study is a response to an earlier work measuring the sustainability of the same renewable technologies. While the previous work indicated Fischer-Tropsch Diesel as the most sustainable, this current work indicated the process as the "most risky," suggesting that risk is a significant driver of decision making over sustainability, and newly developed decision tools should address both perspectives.

Implementation of Food Safety Management Systems along with Other Management Tools (HAZOP, FMEA, Ishikawa, Pareto). The Case Study of Listeria monocytogenes and Correlation with Microbiological Criteria

The food industry’s failure in planning and designing of and in implementing a Food Safety Management System and its foundation elements leads, in most instances, to compromised food safety and subsequent foodborne illness outbreaks. This phenomenon was noticed, worldwide, for all food processors, but with a much higher incidence in the medium- and small-sized food processing plants. Our study focuses on the importance of Food Safety Management System (FSMS), Critical Control Points Hazard Analysis (HACCP) and the Prerequisite Programs (PRPs) as the foundation of HACCP, in preventing foodborne outbreaks. For emphasis, we make use of the example of organizational food safety culture failures and the lack of managerial engagement which resulted in a multi-state listeriosis outbreak in USA. Moreover, we correlate this with microbiological criteria. Implementation of food safety management systems (ISO 22000:2018) along with incorporation of management tools such as HAZOP, FMEA, Ishikawa and Pareto have proved to be proactive in the maintenance of a positive food safety culture and prevention of cross-contamination and fraud.

Risk Assessment and Deployment for Safety Showers and Eyewash Stations in the Process Plant Industry

Safety showers and eyewash stations are equipment used for primary washing if their operator is exposed to hazardous chemicals. Therefore, safety showers and eyewash stations should be installed to ensure operator safety in process plants with excessive hazardous chemicals. International guidelines related to safety showers and eyewash stations are introduced in ANSI Z358.1, BS EN 15154, and German DIN 12899-3:2009, but only mechanical specifications regarding safety showers and eyewash stations are suggested. As such, there are currently no engineering guidelines, books, or technical journal papers requiring safety showers or eyewash stations and their efficient deployment. Thus, this study conducted risk assessment from an industrial hygiene perspective, suggesting which process equipment requires a safety shower and eyewash, including their economical and efficient deployment for operator safety. In industry, safety showers and eyewash stations are considered part of the process safety field; this study attempted to contribute to the safety improvement of operators by applying risk assessment of the industrial hygiene field. More studies are needed that contribute to operators’ safety by incorporating industrial hygiene fields for other process safety fields, including safety showers and eyewash stations.