VITOK Engineers has been called upon by its customers to assist them in the development of OSHA safety compliance related projects.  Of course, all process companies have become very safety conscious, realizing that to be safe is also to be efficient and profitable.  VITOK Engineers has considerable experience in working with safety related processes and projects.  The most recent project work that comes to mind are:

 

  1. Pressure Relief Valves (PRV/PSV) –  Industrial companies are required to have proper documentation and calculations for each relief valve to show it has been designed properly and tested periodically.  If there are any changes to the process that is protected by the PRV, the documentation must be updated. Failure to do so could result in hefty fines from OSHA. The process conditions being changed could be higher throughput rate, difference in temperature, difference in pressure and even, perhaps, a reduction in flow rates.  VITOK has considerable experience in the design of pressure relief systems and performs pressure relief valve calculations for a wide variety of customers on a routine basis.  Our in-house computer programs allow us to be very efficient in the completion of these projects. Learn More
  2. Fall Protection – In recent years, OSHA has become more active with fall protection inspections, and VITOK has extensive experience in fall protection designs. Injuries from falls are one of the most common types of industrial accidents.  Fall protection is mandated by most companies when climbing over four feet and normally includes the installation of devices which allow a worker to attach a safety harness to a structure via support cable to facilitate a short fall.  VITOK performs these calculations in accordance with OSHA requirements and utilizes licensed Structural Engineers to perform these designs.
  3. Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) – Industrial facilities are required to perform Process Hazard Analyses on new processes or any process that has changed significantly.  While most companies have their own PHA teams, quite often VITOK is asked to assist in review of the PHA and assist in identifying potential hazardous situations.  VITOK’s engineers have tremendous in-plant experience. Our unique perspective will point out potential hazards that may not be readily apparent to plant operating personnel.
  4. Process Safety Management (PSM) – PSM is mandated by many companies in the process industry.  VITOK is routinely asked to develop Process and Instrument Diagrams (P&IDs) and Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs) for process safety management review.  We can also assist the individual plant teams in the process safety management review and, once the review is completed, to implement future changes to the P&ID / PFDs to assure continuity and that the information is retained for future use.
  5. Arc Flash Audits/Power Single Line Updates – As part of the 2023 NFPA 70B standard, facilities shall keep updated single line diagrams and arc flash energy calculations. VITOK has decades of experience in updating this documentation and maintaining the calculations for the available energy to keep the documentation current and your employees safe.

 

The items above are not the limits of safety projects, which can be considerable, but are just some of the major areas of concern for many facilities.  In the event that you may have a safety related concern or question, please contact VITOK Engineers and allow us to assist you in developing an acceptable alternative, or process revision, which would bring the process up to acceptable safety standards.