Jonathan Fco. H.’s Post

FROM CLASSIFYING A HAZARDOUS AREA TO MANAGING A POTENTIAL EMERGENCY Classifying a hazardous area for the formation of a potentially explosive atmosphere is a key step that highlights the WHERE and WHAT we can find in work areas. Knowing well substances (the chemical-physical characteristics and how the process takes place) and the likelihood with which a hazardous atmosphere can develop is critical; we know well how from this starts the design of environments, installation of systems and equipment (IEC 60079-14, maintenance IEC 60079-17 and repair IEC 60079-19). Risk assessment, a different step from classification, analyzes the probability and possible magnitude of an event. Then we enter the field of emergency management. How difficult it is to deal with an emergency if you are prepared for it. Captain Smith said: “When anyone asks me how I can best describe my experience in nearly forty years at sea, I merely say, uneventful. Of course, there have been winter gales, and storms and fog and the like. But in all my experience, I have never been in any accident... or any sort worth speaking about. I have seen but one vessel in distress in all my years at sea. I never saw a wreck and never have been wrecked nor was I ever in any predicament that threatened to end in disaster of any sort. E. J. Smith, 1907, Captain, RMS Titanic” Often events not considered/assessed (they were not unexpected) materialize and make disasters. How essential is a synergistic approach between those who assess and those who operate and manage the process. Putting proper attention in preparing for the emergency (remember the RAMP of the American Chemical Society already commented on in a previous post). To prepare for the emergency means allocating the necessary resources (HUMAN and MATERIAL). Attention also to changes (permanent and temporary) and their management. A few days ago (June 1) was the fiftieth anniversary of the Flixborough disaster, a very serious accident that changed the history of industrial safety. #processsafety #emergency #ramp #flixborough #titanic