Emerson Exchange 365

Activity

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...
- 21 Oct 2013
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...
- 17 Sep 2013
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…
- 11 Sep 2013
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...
- 3 Sep 2013
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...
- 6 Aug 2013
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...
- 12 Jun 2013
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...
- 4 Apr 2013
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...
- 2 Apr 2013
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...
- 19 Mar 2013
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...
- 11 Mar 2013
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...
- 16 Jan 2013
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...
- 12 Dec 2012
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...
- 11 Oct 2012
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...
- 21 Aug 2012
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...
- 24 May 2012
Sharing Devices between Control and Safety Instrumented Systems

Jim Cahill

Emerson’s Mike Boudreaux alerted me to a discussion in the Oil and Gas Instrumentation Club LinkedIn group. The thread referenced an earlier post on this blog, Field Device Sharing Between Control and Safety Systems that Mike had written. Mike quoted...
- 1 May 2012
Additional Clarifications on Digital Valve Controllers in Safety Applications

Jim Cahill

A few months ago, I attempted to clear up some misconceptions about the use of digital valve controllers in safety applications in a post, Clarifications on the Use of the DVC6000 SIS in Safety Applications. It addressed misconceptions about references...
- 1 Mar 2012
Centralized, Distributed, and Hybrid Safety Instrumented Systems

Jim Cahill

Emerson’s Mike Boudreaux alerted me to a great article comparing safety instrumented system architectures. The ISA InTech article, Centralized or distributed process safety compares and contrasts centralized, distributed, and hybrid safety systems. Centralized...
- 11 Jan 2012
Clarifications on the Use of the DVC6000 SIS in Safety Applications

Jim Cahill

I had the chance to catch up with Emerson’s Riyaz Ali at the Emerson Exchange last month in Nashville. You may recall Riyaz from many process safety-related posts. In his conversations with process automation and safety professionals, he has been encountering...
- 1 Dec 2011
Safety Valve and Actuator Proof Test Coverage

Jim Cahill

I saw an email string with a question asking if it’s possible to detect all possible failure modes in a safety valve if very intensive and intrusive tests, such as full-stroke testing, leak testing, etc. are performed. Would it be conceivable to use 100...
- 9 Nov 2011
2011 Emerson Exchange – Addressing Partial Stroke Testing Fears – Avoiding False Trips, Risk Through…

Jim Cahill

Exida’s Dr. William Goble and Emerson’s Afton Coleman presented Addressing Partial Stroke Testing Fears – Avoiding False Trips / Risk Through… Their abstract: It is not uncommon for some users to perform partial stroke testing (PST) using cumbersome mechanical...
- 25 Oct 2011
Clear and Concise Safety Requirements Specifications

Jim Cahill

Update and bump: Here is the link to Andy’s paper, The importance of a clear Safety Requirements Specification as part of the overall Safety Lifecycle, which is now posted. Original May 2011 post: Emerson’s Andy Crosland, a process safety expert, will...
- 15 Sep 2011
Safety Instrumented System Architecture Diagnostics

Jim Cahill

The language of process safety is filled with its own jargon. Architectures are described as 1oo1, 1oo2, 2oo2, 2oo3, etc. The “oo” means “out of”. So, 1oo1 means one-out-of-one. William M. Goble and Harry Cheddie wrote a book, Safety Instrumented Systems...
- 13 Sep 2011
Roundup of Process Safety Thoughts and Ideas

Jim Cahill

As we did with the recent energy efficiency post, I wanted to highlight a few key points made in past IEC 61511 safety lifecycle-related posts. This global safety standard provides a performance-based methodology to plan and execute your process safety...
- 7 Jul 2011
Adopting the IEC 61511 Safety Lifecycle Standard

Jim Cahill

I saw a great article from exida‘s Dr. Peter Clarke, Setting the Standard, on how process plants can benefit through proper and careful adoption of the IEC 61511 global safety standard. It’s perhaps the best primer I’ve seen in a while on the safety lifecycle...
- 28 Jun 2011