Chemicals & Materials Now!
From basic to specialty, and everything in between
We’re Engineers, Not Wizards: Why Didn’t the PHA Catch This?
Posted on December 19th, 2017 by Mike Schmidt in Chemical Manufacturing Excellence
“But how can they be charged with negligence because they were not wizards, appellant’s brief does not make clear.” —Osmond K. Fraenkel, successfully arguing before the New York Supreme Court, 1935 Continue reading “We’re Engineers, Not Wizards: Why Didn’t the PHA Catch This?” »
Setting Limits: Boundaries of a PSM-Covered Process
Posted on October 3rd, 2017 by Mike Schmidt in Chemical Manufacturing Excellence
“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.” Albert Einstein
Everyone we have ever worked with is accepting if not downright enthusiastic about managing process safety. Continue reading “Setting Limits: Boundaries of a PSM-Covered Process” »
Meteors and Black Swans: Worst Case Scenarios
Posted on November 10th, 2016 by Mike Schmidt in Chemical Manufacturing Excellence
“No matter how bad things are, you can always make things worse.” Randy Pausch
We really need to stop talking about “worst-case scenarios” when we do a process hazard analysis (PHA) or a quantitative risk assessment (QRA). It’s a nonsense term. More often than not, it is an obstacle to good analysis, not an aid. Continue reading “Meteors and Black Swans: Worst Case Scenarios” »
Reducing Risk in the Chemical Process Industries
Posted on April 21st, 2016 by Mike Schmidt in Chemical Manufacturing Excellence
No one should die at work. Yet people do. Even the safest job in the United States, librarian, has a work-related fatality rate of 0.3 fatalities per year per 100,000 librarians. Continue reading “Reducing Risk in the Chemical Process Industries” »
