Risk Assessment Helps Corporate Executives Avoid Dust Explosions
When the dust settles after an industrial dust explosion, corporate executive officers must answer for the loss of life, revenue, market share, and confidence on Wall Street. Avoiding such risks begins with a professional risk assessment
(PRWEB) July 26, 2005 -- Once the domain of plant managers and facility
engineers, the repercussions from a major dust explosion in an industrial
facility now reverberate all the way up the chain of command to the very top
executives – including the CEO. Despite the significant and very real risks of
dust
explosions, which include the initial blast, secondary fires, significant
losses of process revenue and a host of other hidden costs, many corporate
officers continue to play Russian Roulette by ignoring the issue altogether.
Almost all organic material or un-oxidized metal, when in a dust cloud,
will ignite at a temperature below 500 °C -- approximately the temperature of a
recently extinguished match. Companies in pulp and paper, plastics, chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, textiles, and milling operations that handle powders and bulk
solids are susceptible. Food dusts such as sugar, starch, flour, and cocoa are
also major causes of dust explosions.
Whether these events are
categorized as large, or small, the localized casualties often get overshadowed
by a number of hidden costs, including:
1) Loss of revenue
While
casualty/fire insurance can soften the financial impact of the loss of equipment
and buildings, it seldom makes up for the loss of product and revenue stream.
When processes suddenly stop, the losses can mount to millions of dollars per
week.
2) Loss of customer base/market share
Any major disruptions to a
company's ability to meet customers' needs could result in the loss of customers
and market share, which is difficult to win back.
3) Government
fines
OSHA has been known to issue citations for hundreds of thousands of
dollars in proposed penalties against companies that failed to protect employees
from potentially explosive accumulations of dust.
4) The end of a
career
If a major facility experiences a dust explosion and is out of
commission for an extended period of time at great loss of revenue, then the
final casualty might be corporate execs – even the CEO.
Professional risk
analysis
Based in West Palm Beach, Florida, Cv Technology (dust
explosions before they occur.
“You can't completely eliminate the
danger, but a risk analysis can certainly reduce probability and severity of an
industrial dust explosion,” says Cvetas.
A risk assessment from Cv
Technology includes dust tests and a process evaluation to determine where there
is risk for fire or explosion. Cv Technology can also project the likely
consequences of an event.
Once the Risk Analysis is completed, the
protection alternatives are fully explored. Cv Technology prefers passive
systems, which are the least expensive and most reliable. Taking into account
the process systems, critical operations, production scheduling requirements
etc, priorities can be set, installation costs determined, and a schedule
developed for implementation.
“What risk analyses and dust
explosion protection systems really provide is insurance,” says Cvetas.
“They give top executives the peace of mind that they are operating their plants
safely¾not only preventing potential loss of life but also protecting their
assets and valuable process revenue from dust explosions.”
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/7/prweb265658.htm