Webinars
Register for one or all of our process safety webinars below.
Do I Operate a Group H Occupancy? How Hazardous Materials Use and Storage Impacts Your Facility's Occupation Classification
When: Weds., October 16, 2019 at 2:00pm EDT.
Many companies consider the codes of the National Fire Protection Association to be the foremost documents on Fire Safety and Hazardous Materials. While these codes have generally not been adopted as law, they provide very good guidance on these topics.
These same companies are often unaware of the International Fire Code (IFC), maintained by International Code Council. Most states have adopted the International Fire Code as law, making compliance mandatory and non-compliance subject to legal action. This code, unbeknownst to many, places requirements for building construction on companies that use or store hazardous materials.
This webinar will:
- Provide an overview of the Hazardous Materials section of the IFC.
- Explain the Group H (Hazardous) Occupancies in the IFC.
- Show how to determine if your operations are required to be located in a structure meeting Group H requirements.
- Explain how to determine if changes to your process would be permitted under the IFC.
Practical Steps to Investigate Fire and Explosion Incidents
When: Weds., November 20, 2019 at 2:00pm EST.
The devastating nature of fire and explosions in the process industry is very alarming. Every year, thousands of deaths and injuries occur, in addition to billions of dollars in property losses and production downtime. The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) in 2006 stated that 281 dust explosions were reported between 1980 and 2005 in the USA alone, killing 119 workers and injuring 718. When these types of incidents occur, investigations are initiated to find the root cause of these incidents and to make recommendations to prevent further incidents.
NFPA 921 “Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations” provides detailed guidelines and recommendations for the safe and systematic investigation or analysis of fire and explosion incidents. Fire and explosion investigation or analysis and the accurate listing of causes are fundamental to the protection of lives and property from the threat of hostile fire or explosions. It is through an efficient and accurate determination of the cause and responsibility that future fire incidents can be avoided.
Join us as we review the step to investigate fire and explosion incidents. During this informative presentation, we will discuss:
- Basic fire and explosion science
- Recognition and definition of the problem: In this case, identification of the fuel and ignition source(s) of a fire or explosion.
- Collection of data through observations and experimentation: Facts about the fire or explosion incident are collected by observation, experiment, or other direct data gathering means.
- Analysis of the data: This requires that all data collected be analyzed.
- Formulation of hypotheses: Based on the data analysis, hypothesis, or hypotheses are formulated, to explain the phenomena, whether it be the nature of fire patterns, fire spread, identification of the origin, the ignition sequence, the fire or explosion cause, or the causes of damage or responsibility for the fire or explosion incident.
- Evaluation and testing of hypotheses: Testing of the hypothesis is performed using the principle of deductive reasoning, in which to all known facts, as well as the body of scientific knowledge associated with the phenomena relevant to the specific incident, are compared with the hypotheses.
- Selection of a final hypothesis: The likelihood of the final hypothesis being the actual scenario is to be characterized (1) as “probable, to an acceptable level of certainty” or, alternatively, (2) as “possible” or “suspected”, in which case the scenario would be characterized as “undetermined”.
- Familiarity with this Guide will provide the use with the tools that he/she needs to conduct an effective cause and origin investigation of fire and explosion incidents.