Sunoco also holds periodic PSM conferences for site PSM Coordinators. At these conferences, PSM coordinators from the various facilities discuss current issues, review proposed regulations and standards, and receive training to enhance their expertise in the various aspects of process safety.

During 2005, the PSM Forum’s major activity was the development of three PSM initiatives that will become HES standards addressing:

• Risk Approach – Individual standards will be included for Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA), a new Risk Evaluation Matrix, and an overall Risk Assessment Strategy. These methodologies will complement our existing Process Hazards Analysis program by providing a more quantitative approach to risk evaluation.
• Management of Change (MOC) – This initiative will make existing MOC best practices available to all operating facilities across Sunoco.
• Facility Siting – Initially starting with siting of trailers and portable building siting, this work will then branch out into the analysis of occupied permanent buildings. The work is being staged in a manner consistent with an American Petroleum Institute (API) trailer siting initiative currently underway. (See sidebar story for more information).

The PSM Forum also undertook an initiative to improve the available unit process safety information that is used in the Process Hazards Analysis program. Some of the areas addressed in this effort were:

• Defining safe operating limits;
• Consequences of deviation from operating parameters; and
• Hazards of inadvertent mixing of on-site chemicals.

Facilities also conducted siting studies to update previous work to comply with the API -752 Facility Siting Recommended Practice. The updated work provides a consequence-based analysis framework that supports the initial siting studies.

Addressing the Location of Trailers
Prior to 2005, Sunoco recognized that trailers and other occupied portable plant buildings...
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Chemicals Business Unit PSM Efforts
The Sunoco Chemicals business unit continued its process safety improvement efforts...
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