Facility siting studies can help manage the risks associated with working in hazardous environments and can help prevent accidents resulting in major financial loss, injuries, and lost lives.
Facility siting studies are done to comply with regulations, meet industry guidelines and reduce the chances of public exposure. The OSHA 29 CFR Part 1910.119 Process Safety Management regulation (known as PSM) requires a facility siting study to be carried out in a company’s Process Hazard Analysis (PHA).
To ensure the safety and efficiency of a facility, it is recommended to conduct a facility siting study every five years to assess the potential risks and hazards associated with the facility's location.
What happens if I don't have a Process Hazard Analysis?
Failure to conduct a PHA could result in fines from OSHA, as well as trigger actions with more far-reaching consequences. All refineries, petrochemical or other chemical operations, and other facilities covered by the PSM regulation are required to complete facility siting studies.
A facility siting study is a company’s roadmap to identify potential hazards and to develop mitigation options, so it is important that it is performed by a company that specializes in facility siting studies and hazard assessment.
How does a facility siting study work?
Since each worksite is unique, a clear analysis of potential hazards from explosions, fires and toxins is imperative. Once a thorough assessment is completed, the next step is to look at mitigation solutions.
Damage levels will be illustrated with overpressure maps of a calculated explosion, with an analysis of the impact to onsite buildings, from both an exterior and interior point of view. It’s also important to look at offsite areas and determine the response of each area to a blast.
If you're preparing for a facility siting study, you may want to check out our helpful checklist:
How do I know what my mitigation options are?
Some companies that provide the facility siting study will also make recommendations for mitigation options, other companies leave that up to the facility to find them. It depends on whether the company provides a turnkey service or not.
Once you have those recommendations and potential hazards are identified, work can begin creating safe spaces. There are a range of blast-resistant building options, including leased temporary modular buildings, or permanent custom modular buildings, that still offer top-tier amenities like those found in brick-and-mortar buildings. Sometimes you'll even find options that include turnkey pre-engineered buildings that are custom-quality, but can be ordered and delivered more quickly.
In a facility siting study, there’s always the chance that mitigation doesn't suggest new buildings at all, but instead recommends that existing buildings should be moved, or retrofitted.
What does RedGuard offer?
RedGuard offers mitigation options, like LeaseFleet, the largest rental fleet of blast-resistant buildings of its kind, and the more permanent SafetySuite, custom modular buildings that can include top-of-the-line amenities and can be made to match the look of existing buildings. With either option, blast resistance up to 15 psi can be achieved.
We've developed a name in the industry for our dedication to safety and protecting lives and assets with our blast-resistant buildings. Still, we understand that engineering services are also important for facility safety. However, unlike some of our competitors, our facility siting studies are offered through a third party to prevent bias in the process of mitigating the site.
RedGuard is committed to facilitating its engineering services through a third-party, whether that's for facility siting studies, blast retrofit designs, PSM audits or structural consulting. To learn more about engineering services from RedGuard, contact us today.
