Activity

  • Managing the Lifecycle of Safety Instrumented Systems

    Jim Cahill
    A tremendously experienced panel in functional safety included Dipl.-Ing.(FH) Senior Project Manager, Josef Neumann TÜV NORD Systems, Dr. William Goble Principle Partner, Exida, Russell Cockman Consultant SIS, Emerson, Nicolas Menet , Business Development Manager for Emerson’s Fisher Valves family of products, and Aart Pruysen Director Approvals, Emerson. The experts panel’s abstract: Maintaining Safety Integrity is…

  • Managing the Lifecycle of Safety Instrumented Systems

    Jim Cahill
    A tremendously experienced panel in functional safety included Dipl.-Ing.(FH) Senior Project Manager, Josef Neumann TÜV NORD Systems, Dr. William Goble Principle Partner, Exida, Russell Cockman Consultant SIS, Emerson, Nicolas Menet, Business Development...

  • High-Integrity Pressure Protection System Solution

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Carsten Thoegersen and Emanuele Rivolta shares his expertise on high-integrity pressure protection systems in process safety applications. Their abstract: HIPPS (High-Integrity Pressure Protection System) is a part of the Safety Instrumented...

  • Safety Valve Positioners and Common Cause Failure Questions

    Jim Cahill
    If you work with pumps in your facility, you may be familiar with the Empowering Pumps site, a wealth of information to help you with these important assets in your plant. Founder Charli K. Matthews has launched something similar for valves, Empowering Valves . I had the opportunity to contribute a guest post, Common Cause Failures in Safety Valve Positioners? It was based on a question I recently received. The question…

  • Safety Valve Positioners and Common Cause Failure Questions

    Jim Cahill
    If you work with pumps in your facility, you may be familiar with the Empowering Pumps site, a wealth of information to help you with these important assets in your plant. Founder Charli K. Matthews has launched something similar for valves, Empowering...

  • Faster Emergency Shutoff Valve for Propane Railcars

    Jim Cahill
    Once again, it’s Chris Womack back with a guest post related to terminals. Just a quick mention here of the fast, new, but still memorably named Fisher N863 Snappy Joe Emergency Shutoff Railcar Valve ( pdf ). You see, for the past three decades or so, there’s only been one such valve designed especially for loading and unloading propane from railcars — Emerson’s Fisher Snappy Joe N562. So why the new one? It’s about…

  • Faster Emergency Shutoff Valve for Propane Railcars

    Jim Cahill
    Once again, it’s Chris Womack back with a guest post related to terminals. Just a quick mention here of the fast, new, but still memorably named Fisher N863 Snappy Joe Emergency Shutoff Railcar Valve (pdf). You see, for the past three decades or so, there...

  • Flame Detection and Minimizing False Alarms

    Jim Cahill
    Process manufacturers with hazardous areas in their process are responsible for the safety of the process through the IEC 61511 safety lifecycle—from initial design through decommissioning. Flame monitoring is often an important component in risk mitigation...

  • Functional Safety and Tank Overfill Prevention

    Jim Cahill
    As global oil and gas production continues to fan out to new areas, the need for storage tanks and terminal facilities as part of the distribution processes increases. Making sure those tanks are not overfilled is paramount for safety, environmental protection...

  • 10 Ways to Improve Functional Safety

    Jim Cahill
    ISA Portugal recently hosted a conference on functional safety. Emerson’s Russell Cockman, whom you may recall from earlier safety-related posts, presented 10 ways to improve functional safety without worrying where to put the decimal point in the calculation...

  • Separate Versus Integral Final Element Accessories in Safety Applications

    Jim Cahill
    Final elements such as safety shutdown valves, emergency isolation valves, blowdown valves, etc., in safety instrumented functions (SIFs) are equipped with various accessories such as digital valve controllers, solenoid valves (SOV), and volume boosters...

  • Fired Heater Safety and Burner Management Systems

    Jim Cahill
    Back in March in a post, Safety System Considerations for Process Fired Heaters, I shared some thoughts from a presentation by Emerson’s Nikki Bishop and David Sheppard. The good news is that their thoughts are now available in a PTQ article, Role of...

  • Marine & Offshore Safety

    Anna Velena
    Isn't it amazing how FPSO's are built? The scope of the construction is daunting plus you still need to consider the weight, footprint, industry requirements and scheduling of the project. The control and safety system is part of this huge task and by making it modular, it allows distributed construction, faster commissioning and improved flexibility, among others. Now, some people would say, use Remote I/O to achieve…

  • High Pressure Protective Systems for Oil and Gas Producers

    Jim Cahill
    A North Carolina State University course, Introduction to Fugitive Emissions Monitoring, defines fugitive emissions as: …used in air quality control, generally refers to any emission escaping from regulated processes (sources) other than via the designed...

  • Applying Layer of Protection Analysis to Driving Automobiles

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Anand Iyer applies process safety thinking to automobiles. Statistics put highway accidents as the largest human killer. More people die in automobile accidents than in the wars of the modern world, nuclear power plants or process plants. We...

  • Best Order for Control, Safety and Fire & Gas Hot Cutover

    Jim Cahill
    Several weeks ago, we had a meeting with many of our global consultants, whom we often feature here on the blog. I had the opportunity to meet some new faces and will be sharing their stories in future posts. Emerson’s Julian Gonzalez is one of the Solutions...

  • In-Situ Proof Test Coverage for Coriolis Flow and Density Meters

    Jim Cahill
    Process safety is a top concern for manufacturers with hazardous areas. I received a question on a blog post, Calibrating Coriolis Flowmeters In-Situ: What is Emerson’s statement of proof test coverage (e.g. for SIS testing) for the in-situ tests described...

  • Fired Heater Safety Standards and Burner Management

    Jim Cahill
    In an earlier post, Safety System Considerations for Process Fired Heaters, I highlighted an American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) paper by Emerson’s Nikki Bishop and Dave Sheppard. In this post, I’ll share the safety system design, selection...

  • The Advantages of an Integrated Solution for a Fully Automated Terminal

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Chris Womack highlights a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) project in Mexico in today’s guest post. In liquid petroleum gas terminals featuring partial automation, several systems control the plant’s filling racks, custody transfer areas, and safety...

  • Safety System Considerations for Process Fired Heaters

    Jim Cahill
    The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) will hold their 2013 annual meeting next week, just down the road from here in San Antonio Texas. This March 17-19 conference assembles key executives, decision-makers, and technical experts from...

  • Radar Level Gauges in Tank Overfill Prevention Safety Applications

    Jim Cahill
    Bulk liquid storage tanks are found in many industrial processes including refineries, tank terminals, pipeline terminals, petrochemical and LNG plants, and aviation fuel depots to name a few. There are two predominant requirements from a process safety...

  • Redundancy and Diagnostics in Safety Instrumented System Sensors

    Jim Cahill
    This past Emerson Exchange conference has a treasure trove of presentations as it does every year. I’ve gone into the trove and mined this presentation, Measurement Diagnostics in Safety Instrumented Systems, by Emerson’s Mark Menezes. The presentation...

  • What is in a SIL Safety Certification

    Jim Cahill
    exida’s Dr. William Goble and Emerson’s Afton Coleman presented, What’s is in a SIL Safety Certification?, at the 2012 Emerson Exchange conference. Their abstract: How is a product “certified” for use in a safety instrumented system? What does this mean...

  • Q and A on Digital Valve Controllers and Solenoids in Safety Applications

    Jim Cahill
    A reader emailed some great questions to an earlier post, Clarifications on the Use of the DVC6000 SIS in Safety Applications. The post, featuring the thoughts of Emerson’s Riyaz Ali, addressed misconceptions about the use of digital valve controllers...

  • Safety Instrumented System Diagnostics to Prevent, Not Initiate Safety Trips

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Mike Boudreaux pointed me to a great blog post by exida’s Principal Partner, Dr. William Goble. The post, I Don’t Want No D*** Diagnostics! describes how automatic diagnostics in a safety-rated transmitter led to a false trip, much to the displeasure...

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