Process hazard management in pilot plant operation

Abstract

Serious accidents such as injuries, property loss or even fatalities caused by pilot plant operations have received a lot of attention in recent years as it continues to occur in the research and teaching locations. In the attempt to reduce the likelihood of occurrence of these accidents, recognizing the potential hazards by the people managing and operating the pilot plants is imperative. This paper presents the method of Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (HIRARC) in managing the process hazards for pilot plant operations at the College of Engineering, UiTM Cawangan Johor, Kampus Pasir Gudang. It provides information on the potential hazards, risk level and risk control implementation relating to the common processes taking place in this particular pilot plant. From this study, the highest risk was produced from the activity of measuring hazardous chemicals, which gives the level of risk is 6. Meanwhile, other activities in this pilot plant mostly were recorded in low level (1-3). The results obtained are based on the experience of the people operating the pilot plant to ensure a more complete reporting on the study conducted. The implementation of this method could be effective in improving the process hazards management system in pilot plant.