Abstract
During the development of a licensed petrochemical industrial plant project, the identification, review and proper addressing of hazards is carried out by the different project’s stakeholders (Licensor, EPCC Contractor, Owner, etc.) since the early phases of feasibility study and basic engineering, up to detail design, procurement, construction and commissioning phases.
This results in multiple layers of HSE requirements whose proper and effective implementation needs to be checked before commencing operations, in order to prevent adverse HSE consequences that could affect other business aspects and success of the project.
A formal process to ensure that plants and facilities conform to HSE requirements, that relevant safety, operating, maintenance and emergency procedures are in place and that all process hazard analyses recommendations have been implemented, is the Pre-Startup Safety Review, or PSSR.
The PSSR shall be performed at site by a multidisciplinary team as close as possible, but prior to the mechanical completion, when fire protection systems, fire water network, fire and gas detection systems and emergency blow down systems are in place.
The PSSR team shall evaluate the overall review results and recommend whether the concerned unit/system is ready and safe to start-up.
This paper illustrates how different sessions of Pre-Startup Safety Review were performed and managed to close-out on a new petrochemical plant, to demonstrate that the facilities were ready and safe prior to the introduction of any hazardous materials.
