Process Safety Vs Occupational Safety: Which Should You Focus On?
When it comes to safety in the workplace, there are two main types of safety to be aware of : Process Safety and Occupational Safety. Both are important in ensuring a safe work environment, but they have different focuses.
Process Safety Vs Occupational Safety — Process safety concerns with the dangers associated with the processing facilities that contain hazardous materials. In contrast, occupational safety involves the overall working environment and the hazards posed to workers in their day-to-day activities.
Understanding the differences between these two types of safety is important in maintaining a safe workplace for all employees. Here’s a closer look at process safety vs occupational safety.
What is Process Safety
Process safety is a management system that prevents major accidents such as explosions and fires in processing facilities. For example, if you are operating an oil refinery with a spill of flammable liquid (like gasoline), you need to implement process safety.
Process safety prevents major accidents involving releasing hazardous materials from process plants and equipments. It covers the design, operation, maintenance and modification of process plants and the effects of human and organizational factors on process safety.
Many process safety hazards can occur in any industry. Some of the most common process safety hazards include:
- Fires and explosions
- Toxic releases
- Reactive chemical incidents
- Pressure vessel rupture
- Equipment failure
To prevent these hazards from occurring, it is important to have good process safety management in place. This includes having proper procedures and controls in place, as well as adequate training for employees.
Process Safety Examples
There are a variety of process safety examples that help to illustrate the differences between process and occupational safety.
Chemical plants where many chemicals are used and stored. If one of these chemicals were to leak, it could potentially cause a fire or explosion. This type of event would be considered a process safety issue.
Process safety examples also include
- Preventing fires and explosions in facilities handling flammable materials
- Controlling pressures and temperatures in reactors and distillation columns
- Managing risks associated with storage tanks containing toxic or combustible liquids
In each of these cases, the goal is to prevent an uncontrolled release of energy or material that could cause harm to people or damage to equipment.
What is Occupational Safety
Occupational safety is the study and practice of protecting workers from workplace hazards. It is the promotion and creation of a safe and healthy working environment.
It covers various topics, including ergonomics, slips and trips, manual handling, work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), stress, workplace violence and more.
Worker’s health and safety are managed at the executive level, involving employee compliance and quality oversight. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets standards for worker health enforced by law.
There are many potential occupational safety hazards in any workplace. These hazards can be present due to the type of work being performed, the materials being used, the equipment being used, or the work environment. Some common occupational safety hazards include:
- Slips, trips and falls
- Electrical hazards
- Ergonomic hazards
- Exposure to hazardous materials
- Fire and explosion hazards
- Machinery hazards
Employers need to identify and assess the risks of these hazards.
It is also essential to conduct regular inspections of the work environment and train employees to recognize hazards and report them. This can be done through a company-wide training program covering topics such as safety procedures for equipment use and what behaviours are expected from workers during their employment.
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