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5 Ways To Ensure Plant Safety in Processing Facilities

Processing facilities must ensure employees are trained and educated on proper protocols and procedures to maintain a safe working environment. Plant managers should regularly access the facility for risks and ensure sanitization procedures are followed.

Proper employee training and education

Employees are the backbone of any plant, and their knowledge and adherence to safety protocols are crucial. All-inclusive training programs should educate employees on proper hygiene practices, personal protective equipment (PPE) use, and equipment handling.

“Regular refresher courses and ongoing education initiatives will help reinforce safety protocols and keep employees informed about the latest processing industry standards,” said Glenn Quinty, senior design engineer at ThermOmegaTech.

Assess facility risks

Conducting a thorough risk assessment is necessary to identify and understand potential hazards within the plant. This assessment involves analyzing the processes, machinery, chemicals, and work environments to pinpoint possible sources of danger. Once identified, appropriate control measures can be implemented to mitigate risks and minimize the likelihood of accidents.

Develop proper sanitization procedures

Cleaning and sanitizing chemical, pharmaceutical, food, and beverage processing equipment is critical to maintaining hygiene and operational efficiency. These facilities can offer microscopic places for germs and pathogens to hide, especially in cracks and scratches.

Effective sanitization practices should include regularly cleaning and disinfecting all surfaces and equipment. Washdown stations are a part of those best practices.

“Using a washdown unit like ThermOmegaTech’s STVM Station that combines steam and water to provide a high-temperature wash has several benefits. Steam and water mixing stations provide instantaneous steam-heated water with pressure behind it, which can kill bacteria, sterilize and break down greases and other residues in processing plants,” Quinty said.

“When factoring in the amount of volume that the steam occupies in the pipe, as it is compressible, it allows more energy transfer per pipeline distribution size than water or electricity. This washdown station sanitizes equipment efficiently and prevents contamination while complying with industry standards,” he said.

Implement emergency safety equipment

Installing emergency equipment to protect personnel is vital to workplace safety. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations address the need for emergency eyewash and shower stations in 1910.151(c) but do not go into specific requirements for the equipment. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z358.1 standard is the widely accepted guideline for adequately selecting, installing, operating, and maintaining emergency showers, eyewashes, eye/face washes, and combination units.

ANZI Z358.1 addresses where and how to install the equipment and the flushing liquid’s velocity, pressure and temperature. If a person is exposed to a dangerous substance, they need to flush the area of their body exposed with tepid water as quickly as possible. Using tepid water prevents scalding and low-temperature shock.

Various solutions exist for tepid water delivery to these stations, including mixing valves, electric water heaters, and instantaneous electric or steam heater systems.

Strict adherence to regulations and industry standards

Adhering to relevant safety regulations and industry standards is non-negotiable. Compliance with legal requirements ensures that the plant operates within established parameters. Regular audits and inspections should be conducted to verify compliance and identify improvement areas.

Maintaining and enforcing employee training and education initiatives, assessing facility risks, following proper sanitization procedures and implementing emergency safety equipment are all ways to ensure your employees are at their safest while working daily.

Questions on how to make your plant or facility safer? Contact ThermOmegaTech here.

This article ran on January 18, 2024, in Plant Engineering magazine. Read the full feature here.

Originally published in Industrial Safety & Hygiene News.

Safety showers and face/eyewash stations are critical pieces of equipment in any workplace where chemical spills are a potential threat. ThermOmegaTech®, a leader in self-actuating thermostatic technology, offers an innovative solution to the challenge of supplying safety fixtures with consistently tepid water on demand.

An industrial chemical manufacturer located in Ontario, Canada recently began a $2 billion expansion of their existing production facility. Due to the presence of potentially hazardous materials in chemical manufacturing, the installation of safety showers and face/eyewash stations was a plant necessity.

The company’s other sites have had success using ThermOmegaTech®’s Therm-O-Mix® Station for instantaneous tepid water delivery, therefore the Therm-O-Mix® Station was again selected for this expansion to promote overall conformity of safety equipment and procedures. ThermOmegaTech®’s TV/SC-A valve was also chosen to control the safety station enclosure’s ambient air temperature.

The Therm-O-Mix® Station utilizes only a facility’s existing steam and water supply to instantaneously deliver tepid water to emergency safety showers and face/eyewash stations. When an emergency fixture is activated, the resulting pressure drop on a diaphragm establishes flow and opens a steam control valve, which the station uses to heat cold water. The now hot water travels through an initial tempering valve that adds cold water and reduces the water temperature to about 100°F (37.7°C), then through a second mixing valve that adds more cold water and lowers the temperature to an OSHA-approved 80°F (26.6°C), before being delivered through the emergency fixtures.

The expansion project included a mix of classified and non-classified environments. Equipment in the classified section of the plant needed to be explosion-proof due to the sensitive nature of the chemicals produced on-site and by selecting the Therm-O-Mix®, the facility avoided the need for an expensive insulation process.

“Our Therm-O-Mix® Station operates completely mechanically,” Timothy Hartung, industrial product manager at ThermOmegaTech® commented. “It doesn’t require a source of electricity to operate, so it’s the ideal tepid water delivery product for refineries and factories with explosion proof environments.”

A necessary addition to any new or existing facility to comply with ANSI Z358.1, the Therm-O-Mix® Station has a small footprint, does not require insulated tanks or expensive recirculation systems, and is self-purging so there is no need for an elaborate drainage system.

The Therm-O-Mix® Station was mounted onto the outside of a polar cubicle and plumbed to deliver tepid water to the safety showers and face/eyewash station inside of the cubicle.

To maintain the temperature inside of the cubicle at a level where users would feel comfortable disrobing for proper safety shower operation, ThermOmegaTech®’s TV/SC-A valve was selected to control the flow of steam.

A thermostatic actuator on the end of the TV/SC-A valve located inside of the polar cubicle monitors and responds to the ambient temperature inside the cubicle. When the temperature falls to the valves set point, the TV/SC-A modulates open to allow steam to flow through a radiation element, which is traced inside of the cubicle to warm it up. Once the ambient temperature has risen, the valve modulates closed again to conserve steam.

“Installation of 26 integrated units is currently underway at the facility and will be completed by the end of 2019,” Hartung commented.

Compact and reliable, the Therm-O-Mix® tepid water delivery station is an essential fixture in any facility where chemicals are being handled to ensure both worker safety and guideline compliance.

Check out the full article at ISHN.com.

OSHA

In the News: Plant Safety Tips Highlighted in Plant Engineering Magazine