Combustible Dust Testing

Laboratory testing to quantify dust explosion and reactivity hazards

Safety Data Sheets

Develop critical safety data for inclusion in SDS documents

Gas and Vapor

Laboratory testing to quantify explosion hazards for vapor and gas mixtures

UN-DOT
Classification of hazardous materials subject to shipping and storage regulations
Hydrogen
Testing and consulting on the explosion risks associated with devices and processes which use or produce hydrogen
Safety Data Sheets

Develop critical safety data for inclusion in SDS documents

Thermal Stability

Safe storage or processing requires an understanding of the possible hazards associated with sensitivity to variations in temperature

Adiabatic Calorimetry
Data demonstrate the consequences of process upsets, such as failed equipment or improper procedures, and guide mitigation strategies including Emergency Relief System (ERS) design
Reaction Calorimetry
Data yield heat and gas removal requirements to control the desired process chemistry
Battery Safety

Testing to support safe design of batteries and electrical power backup facilities particularly to satisfy UL9540a ed.4

Safety Data Sheets

Develop critical safety data for inclusion in SDS documents

Cable Testing
Evaluate electrical cables to demonstrate reliability and identify defects or degradation
Equipment Qualification (EQ)
Testing and analysis to ensure that critical equipment will operate under adverse environmental conditions
Water Hammer
Analysis and testing to identify and prevent unwanted hydraulic pressure transients in process piping
Acoustic Vibration
Identify and eliminate potential sources of unwanted vibration in piping and structural systems
Gas & Air Intrusion
Analysis and testing to identify and prevent intrusion of gas or air in piping systems
ISO/IEC 17025:2017

Fauske & Associates fulfills the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 in the field of Testing

ISO 9001:2015
Fauske & Associates fulfills the requirements of ISO 9001:2015
Dust Hazards Analysis
Evaluate your process to identify combustible dust hazards and perform dust explosion testing
On-Site Risk Management
On-site safety studies can help identify explosibility and chemical reaction hazards so that appropriate testing, simulations, or calculations are identified to support safe scale up
DIERS Methodology
Design emergency pressure relief systems to mitigate the consequences of unwanted chemical reactivity and account for two-phase flow using the right tools and methods
Deflagrations (Dust/Vapor/Gas)

Properly size pressure relief vents to protect your processes from dust, vapor, and gas explosions

Effluent Handling

Pressure relief sizing is just the first step and it is critical to safely handle the effluent discharge from an overpressure event

FATE™ & Facility Modeling

FATE (Facility Flow, Aerosol, Thermal, and Explosion) is a flexible, fast-running code developed and maintained by Fauske and Associates under an ASME NQA-1 compliant QA program.

Mechanical, Piping, and Electrical
Engineering and testing to support safe plant operations and develop solutions to problems in heat transfer, fluid, flow, and electric power systems
Hydrogen Safety
Testing and consulting on the explosion risks associated with devices and processes which use or produce hydrogen
Thermal Hydraulics
Testing and analysis to ensure that critical equipment will operate under adverse environmental conditions
Nuclear Safety
Our Nuclear Services Group is recognized for comprehensive evaluations to help commercial nuclear power plants operate efficiently and stay compliant
Radioactive Waste
Safety analysis to underpin decomissioning process at facilities which have produced or used radioactive nuclear materials
Adiabatic Safety Calorimeters (ARSST and VSP2)

Low thermal inertial adiabatic calorimeters specially designed to provide directly scalable data that are critical to safe process design

Other Lab Equipment and Parts for the DSC/ARC/ARSST/VSP2 Calorimeters

Products and equipment for the process safety or process development laboratory

FERST

Software for emergency relief system design to ensure safe processing of reactive chemicals, including consideration of two-phase flow and runaway chemical reactions

FATE

Facility modeling software mechanistically tracks transport of heat, gasses, vapors, and aerosols for safety analysis of multi-room facilities

Blog

Our highly experienced team keeps you up-to-date on the latest process safety developments.

Process Safety Newsletter

Stay informed with our quarterly Process Safety Newsletters sharing topical articles and practical advice.

Resources

With over 40 years of industry expertise, we have a wealth of process safety knowledge to share.

Recent Posts

What's Missing in Your Process Safety Toolkit?

Posted by Fauske & Associates on 11.17.15

By Amy Theis, Director of Risk Management Services and AnnMarie Fauske, Customer Outreach and Digital Media Manager, Fauske & Associates, LLC (FAI)

Process safety focuses on preventing fires, explosions and accidental chemical releases in chemical process facilities or other facilities dealing with hazardous materials such as refineries, and oil and gas facilities. Traditionally, process safety has been implemented through OSHA's Process Safety Management (PSM) of potentially hazardous chemicals. The purpose of PSM is to prevent or minimize catastrophic loss of primary containment events such as the release toxic, reactive, flammable, or explosive chemicals that could result in The ChemiSens* is a heat flux calorimeter that provides a true heat flow signal without requiring any calibration.toxic exposure, fire or explosion hazards. An effective PSM program requires a systematic approach to evaluating the chemical process. Using this approach, the process design, process technology, process changes, operational and maintenance activities and procedures, non-routine activities and procedures, emergency preparedness plans and procedures, training programs and other elements that affect the process are all considered in the evaluation.

The key component to implementing an effective PSM program is appropriate hazard identification which utilizes the process safety information (PSI) piece of PSM. The process should be reviewed to identify hazards associated with the following:

  • Chemicals
  • Technology The RC1 is a heat flow calorimeter.
  • Equipment

Chemicals should be evaluated to identify: 

Toxicity information –

  • Permissible exposure limits
  • Physical data
  • Flammability data
  • Reactivity data
  • Corrosivity data
  • Thermal and Chemical Stability data
  • Chemical Incompatibility data for Inadvertent Mixing
  • Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS’s)
  • Process Chemistry information
  • Runaway Reaction characterization
  • If applicable, Material Incompatibilites, unwanted reactions and potential decomposition reactions

Process technology should be evaluated to identify:

  • Block flow diagram or simplified process flow diagram
  • Process chemistry for desired reaction
  • Maximum intended inventories
  • Safe upper and lower limits for operating parameters
  • Qualitative evaluation of the consequences of deviations

Process equipment should be evaluated to identify:

  • Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs)
  • Design Codes & Standards Materials of Construction Data from RSST/ARSST can be used directly to assess prevention (safe storage and transportation of self-reactive substances and organic peroxides) and accommodation (runaway reactions in terms of adequate pressure protection) of uncontrolled chemical activity
  • Electrical Classification
  • Relief System Design & Design Basis Ventilation System Design
  • Material & Energy balances for processes built after 5/26/92
  • Safety Systems (interlocks, detection or suppression systems)

This information is all used together to support the Process Hazards Analysis (PHA) effort and make the study as effective as possible to identify hazards associated with the process.

If there are gaps in the information needed in order to characterize material for flammability parameters, desired reactive chemistry, potential unwanted reactions, decomposition reactions or combustible dust characeristics, extensive laboratories such as Fauske & Associates (FAI) have capabilities to meet those needs. A full service lab also has subject matter experts in flammability, combustible dust and reactive chemicals in order to be able to guide the discussion and/or facilitate the PHA study.

For more information regarding Process Safety, Process Hazards Analysis and other reactive chemical safety topics, please contact Amy Theis, Director of Risk Management Services, Fauske & Associates, LLC (FAI), 630-887-5211, theis@fauske.com

Process Safety Management (PSM) Overview

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Topics: Process Safety

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