Bath PSM has a category of services called “Design”. In this category the services pertain to requests which can be made independent of a Hazardous Area Classification assessment or a Hazardous Area Classification Compliance assessment. Please see our Design Services:
The occupancy and location of both permanent and portable buildings within a facility processing toxic and/or flammable materials has become a major interest in Process Safety Management. These buildings include those housing electrical equipment only (e.g. Motor Control Center (MCC)) as well as those designed for routine occupancy (e.g. Operations Control Center).
Bath PSM has developed a process for the study and documentation of building locations in potentially hazardous areas of a process facility.
The focus of the “Siting Study” is centered on the following guiding principles:
- Locate buildings housing personnel away from process areas
- Minimize the use of occupied buildings located in close proximity to process areas
- Manage the occupancy of buildings in close proximity to process areas
- Protect building occupants against the effects of explosion, fire, and toxic releases
- Manage the use of buildings intended for occupancy as a part of the design, construction, and maintenance of the building
Bath PSM uses a commercially available Consequence Analysis computer application along with the guidelines offered in API RP 752/753 to execute the “Siting Study”.
The plot plan drawing for the process area under study is the backbone of the Bath PSM Best Practices methodology for documenting the assigned Hazardous Area Classification (HAC) or results of Consequence Modeling.
The following CAD services are often requested by clients needing this support either as an independent request or as part of an HAC or Consequence Modeling study scope:
- Verify equipment location per existing plot plan drawings
- Identify equipment associated with a skid unit by individual equipment number
- Create unit/area plot plans as record documents
- Modify existing unit/area plot plans as record documents
- Create elevation drawings showing relative location of equipment by level
Bath PSM offers modeling services in two different areas. Consequence Modeling and Dispersion Modeling computer applications are commercially available to determine the extent of a potential release of a toxic chemical (Consequence Modeling) or to determine the extent of the flammable region of a vapor cloud release to the atmosphere (Dispersion Modeling). The upfront cost and resource investment to learn these computer programs is not always economical for all companies with these needs.
Bath PSM uses commercially available Gas/Vapor Dispersion Modeling software which can provide our clients the answers they need. Results are provided via “Audit Proof” documentation for all point sources of those releases within the study scope.
Although these services are presented in this category as “stand alone” the end results support Bath PSM’s core services.