by Steve Arendt, Vice President, Organizational Performance Assurance, ABS Consulting
API has developed a new recommended practice on location of process plant portable buildings, and companies are adopting root cause analysis approaches
to connect process safety performance to organizational and individual cultural attitudes.
New Recommended Practices for Siting Portable Buildings
An API Facility Siting Task Force completed an 18-month
effort to establish new recommended practices for siting
of portable buildings in process plants. Recommended
Practice 753, Management of Hazards Associated with
Location of Process Plant Portable Buildings, First
Edition, is a guidance document for reducing the risk
to personnel located in portable buildings of exposure
to potential explosions, fire and toxic releases.
While occupied permanent buildings (e.g., control rooms, operator shelters) located near covered process areas are typically constructed to be blast and fire resistant, conventional portable buildings (i.e., light wood trailers) are typically not constructed to be blast and fire resistant. Past explosion accidents have demonstrated that occupants of conventional portable buildings are susceptible to injuries from structural failures, building collapse, building debris and projectiles.
RP 753 offers the following principles for siting of portable buildings:
- Facilities should justify the need for using a portable building.
- Portable building occupancy should be restricted to essential personnel in areas near hazardous processes.
- The risk of exposure of personnel in portable buildings should be communicated to employees and contractors.
- Simple minimum safe distances should be established or a formal evaluation should be conducted when locating portable buildings.
- Periodic inspection of portable buildings should be conducted to determine whether changes require a revision of the siting evaluation.
- A consequence analysis should be conducted to ensure thoroughness and sufficient detail.
API RP 753 also provides portable building blast endpoint data correlated to building damage levels for use in analyzing trailers based upon new research and analysis and risk reduction guidance on design, construction, installation and use of portable buildings. |
