Amplify Your Process Safety

In this episode, Magi and Jackson discuss the importance of lockout/tagout procedures in process safety, analyzing several incidents that highlight failures in energy isolation and the consequences of neglecting safety protocols. They delve into the need for thorough procedures and best practices to prevent accidents in industrial settings. For more about the CSB's ARRR, or AR3 as we like to c...

In this episode, Rob interviews Alex Pawlowski, Vice President of Design and Operations at SPEC Process Engineering and Construction. They discuss the critical role of process safety in engineering and construction, particularly in projects involving hazardous materials. Alex shares insights on how SPEC integrates safety into their design and construction processes, the challenges faced in maintai...

In this episode, Magi and Jackson discuss some of the incidents included in Volume 2 of the CSB's Accidental Release Reporting Rule, and some safeguards that can be put in place to prevent such incidents from happening. For more about the 2023 Heater Fire at Marathon Martinez Renewables Facility, check out episode 122 here. For more information about the ARRR, check out Volume 2 of the CSB&#39...

In this episode, Rob is joined by Tyson Alexander, head of sales at APSM. Tyson has been at APSM for over 18 years and he talks us through some of the history of APSM, including what the "A" stands for, the evolution of process safety management, and real-world application of APSM software. For more information about APSM, visit their website at https://apsm.net/ and for the latest APSM...

In this episode, Rob and Magi discuss the recently released Safe Work Practice from the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) about Simultaneous Operations (SIMOPS) for offshore and operating plants.  SIMOPS are defined as "two or more different activities occurring at the same time that are close enough to interfere with each other and transfer risk or performance implications."  Th...

In this episode, Magi and Jackson breakdown the most recent CSB final report. They cover the 2023 fire at the Marathon Martinez Renewables Facility that resulted in a significant injury for one employee and $350 million in property damage. This breakdown includes a review of the event, contributing factors and recommendations from the CSB. Tune in to find out more or read the report here . For mor...

In this episode Magi and Jackson break down the CSB's Accidental Release Reporting Rule (ARRR) - what it is and some of the incidents reported under this rule. The ARRR requires reporting certain incidents to the CSB and has led them to deploy to some incidents that they may not have otherwise investigated. For more information about the Accidental Release Reporting Rule (ARRR), check out CSB...

In this episode, Rob and Jackson lead listeners through NFPA 660; the new and improved combustible dust standard, which was released in late 2024. They discuss the reason for the new standard, other meaningful changes in the standard, general requirements of the standard, the titles of the industry specific chapters, which requirements are retroactive or not, and which annexes they found most valu...

In this episode, Rob is joined by Casey Houston, principal engineer of Chemitics, a consulting firm that specializes in overpressure protection and effluent handling system designs.  Casey has been a participant with the AIChE DIERS group since 2006 and has been a member with the API Subcommittee on Pressure Relief System designs since 2011.  He is also the co-chair for the API Task Force on Techn...

In this episode, Rob and Magi discuss some of the natural disasters that have contributed to process safety incidents in recent years, including the impacts that Hurricanes Harvey, Laura, Ida, Ian, and Helene have had. For related content, please check out our past episodes below. Episode 26 - Natural Hazard Assessment and Planning Episode 103 - Quantitative and Qualitative Natural Disaster Prepar...

In this episode, Rob is joined by Jackson Colley, the newest member of the Amplify Process Safety team. Rob sits down with Jackson to talk about his background and what ultimately led him to joining Amplify. Welcome to the team, Jackson! To connect with Jackson, find him on LinkedIn here or email him at jackson.colley@amplifyconsultants.com. To learn more about the rest of our team, visit www.ampl...

In this special episode, Rob and Magi present 2024 (Process Safety) Wrapped. They cover regulatory changes that took place this year, major incidents the CSB has deployed to, metrics on other minor process safety incidents they've tracked this year, CSB reports issued this year, and their hopes for a renewed focus on process safety in 2025. Do you have a process safety related resolution for 2025?...

In this episode, Rob welcomes back Mathew Todaro, a partner at Verrill Law who defends and negotiates on behalf of his clients under statutes such as the Clean Water Act, EPCRA, and FIFRA, with a particular focus on Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act. Today, Rob and Mat give listeners a crash course on the EPA's Risk Management Plan (RMP) Rule. They cover applicability, the three program levels,...

In this episode, Rob welcomes back guest Neil Beekie, CEO and Co-Founder of OperAid. Listeners may remember him from Episode 79 (listen here ) back in the summer of 2023, where he introduced us to OperAid, a software tool that assists operators with real-time verification of manual tasks. Today, Rob gets an update on present-day OperAid, including successes, the type of feedback that's been receiv...

In this episode, inspired by the CSB investigation update into the 2023 explosion and toxic chemical release at the Honeywell facility in Geismer, LA, Rob and Molly discuss the challenges of aging equipment and infrastructure at chemical plants and refineries. They discuss the aforementioned Honeywell incident, as well as three others where poorly maintained equipment was a key factor that ultimat...

In this episode, Rob and Magi discuss the CSB's new safety study titled "Remote Isolation of Process Equipment" that includes recommendations to regulators and emphasizes the need for greater adoption of remote isolation equipment at chemical facilities across the country. Rob and Magi run through the list of recent CSB investigations that are specifically highlighted in the safety study, where th...

The final part of our mini deep dive into different aspects of Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs) is finally here. In today's episode, Molly and Magi talk PHA safeguards, including hierarchy of controls, common types of safeguards (including how and when operator response can be credited in a PHA), quantitative vs. qualitative risk assessment for safeguard effectiveness, independent protection lay...

This episode is the second of a three part series in which Molly and Magi take a deep dive into different aspects of Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs). In today's episode, they talk PHA consequences, including some common pitfalls to avoid when it comes to considering consequences in a PHA, general types of impacts used for PHA consequences, tools to use for defining impacts, and some consequence...

This episode is the first of a three part series in which Molly and Magi take a deep dive into different aspects of Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs). In today's episode, they talk PHA causes, including identifying causes of deviation in HAZOP, What-If, and Checklist methodologies, some common pitfalls they've observed regarding causes in PHAs, and what makes a cause not credible. If you have...

In this episode, Rob and Magi cover the recent changes made to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Risk Management Program (RMP) Final Rule. The changes fall into four categories: the prevention program, emergency response, availability of information, and other areas of technical clarification. In this episode, they discuss each change, what each could mean for your facility goi...

In today's episode, Rob is joined by guest Shawn Marsh, Vice President of ESHQ Services North America at Evonik, a specialty chemicals manufacturer based in Germany, with production plants in 27 countries on six continents. Shawn explains how Evonik manages process safety and how he fits into that process, key metrics he uses to manage and measure process safety, the challenges of communicatin...

In this episode, Rob sits down with Mat Todaro of Verrill Law, who listeners may remember from his previous guest appearances on the show related to EPA's Risk Management Program and General Duty Clause. Today Rob and Mat discuss EPA's National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (NECI) for 2024, including what they are and which initiatives are new, modified, and continued, what is dif...

In this episode Magi and Jo team up to cover a recent CSB final report. In this incident breakdown, they cover the 2022 accidental release of naphtha that resulted in a fire, two worker fatalities, and significant property damage at the BP-Husky refinery in Oregon, Ohio, including what happened leading up to the event, contributing factors, recommendations the CSB made in their final report, and w...

In today's episode, Molly sits down with Stephen J. Wallace, the author of a newly released process safety thriller titled "Hazardous Lies". Although his book is a work of fiction, Stephen discusses how his book relates to real aspects of process safety and how it was informed by his real career experience in the process safety field, how he came up with the idea for the novel, his l...

In this episode, Rob is joined again by guest Mike Washington, who is the Director of Industrial Safety at Arkema Inc., The Americas. Mike recently gave a talk at the AIChE Global Congress on Process Safety in New Orleans in March 2023 titled, “Quantitative Natural Disaster Assessment and Scorecard for Chemical Plants," and today discusses some of what he covered in that talk. Rob and Mike co...