Smith & Burgess' Blog

Did you know that liquid trim valves can be certified for vapor? 

There is often confusion around the required trim and certification when selecting a new safety-relief valve. For example, when there are both vapor relief scenarios and liquid relief scenarios, is a dual-certified PRV required? What about when the service is liquid but the controlling scenario is vapor? In the past, we have recommended “dual-certified” PRVs when there are both liquid and vapor relief scenarios, but these valves can be difficult to obtain or could have long lead times.  When might there be alternatives? In this discussion we will look at what liquid trim means and when different trims may be suitable for different relief possibilities.

Did you know, OSHA does not allow block valves on the inlet of relief valves installed on air receivers in compressed air systems?

OSHA CFR 1910.169(b)(3)(ii) states, “No valve of any type shall be placed between the air receiver and its safety valve or valves.”

"Great teamwork is the only way we create the breakthroughs that define our careers."

As we enter 2020, most of us have already taken a moment to reflect on last year's successes and failures. (At least on a personal level.) A somewhat painful and unavoidable exercise to help guide your decisions in the upcoming year.

However, how many have taken stock of our past decade's personal successes and failures? If you haven't, quickly give it a shot right now.

Establishing and maintaining an effective safety culture is a symphony of challenges and moving pieces.

Too often, those responsible engineers are stretched thin with competing priorities. Smith & Burgess is here to help. Our culmination of Process Safety knowledge enables us to quickly provide our clients with practical solutions that lead to compliance, significant cost-savings, and of course, peak facility safety.

The Opportunity:

A recent Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA) of a cavern storage facility identified several equipment installations requiring safety system upgrades. While the facility management wanted to follow proper review procedures, these proposed mitigation options seemed excessive. As a result, the site hired Smith & Burgess to review the safety systems upgrades to ensure the installations were needed and met regulatory requirements.

The Opportunity:

A major United State refinery was proactively ensuring compliance for their PSM Program in preparation for OSHA’s NEP Program. The refinery contacted Smith & Burgess to share best practices on performing PSM / Internal Audits and used this opportunity to train their corporate and site staff to perform future PSM audits.