Safety Device and Pressure Relief Valve Audit

CLIENT: Global Food and Animal Food Manufacturer

PROJECT: Safety Device Audit

BACKGROUND: A site identified significant gaps in safety documentation after an internal audit for their Process Safety Management (PSM) covered processes. The site needed documentation for each relief valve including the sizing basis, sizing calculations, and system information such as vessel pressure ratings.

CHALLENGES:

  • Vendor drawings on existing systems did not exist in some instances.
  • Design basis for relief valves needed to be studied and determined for each case.
  • Existing relief devices were undersized or not the right design for the application.

image of three pressure relief valves.

 

WORK COMPLETED:

  • ADF was able to compile the necessary background information to ensure compliance with PSM requirements including as-built accurate P&ID showing the safety device, documented sizing basis including consideration of multiple relief scenarios and assessment of worst case and ruling out of double-jeopardy scenarios, documentation on flow restriction devices such as control valves to assess critical flow to relief valves, and assessment of fire case sizing per applicable ASME VIII, NFPA, and API codes.
  • ADF performed calculations for each relief valve to assess sizing and specified replacement devices where the existing was not adequate or not installed for the correct service.
  • ADF provided individual reports for each protected piece of equipment or system including system documentation, sizing basis justification, and sizing calculations.

SUMMARY:

The client was able to resolve their internal audit and now has accurate sizing basis and calculations for each safety device in their PSM covered process.

For additional information on safety engineering services, please contact ndeutsch@adfengineering.com or mwilliamson@adfengineering.com