Health, Safety & Environmental (HSE) experts in the manufacturing and production industries gathered recently here in Austin for the 4C Health/Safety/Environmental Conference.
At this year’s conference, Emerson’s Marcelo Carugo, Julie Valentine and Marcio Donnangelo presented in three of the sessions.
Julie and Marcio teamed up to present, How Digital Transformation Can Impact Compliance for Environmental and Safety Regulation. Their presentation described how digital transformation is eliminating layers of complexity to bring pre-interpreted field data directly to those who need to make decisions and take action. They highlighted two examples.
The first example involved environmental reporting. These reports require flow measurements which must be verified to be accurate. Discovery of an inaccurate measurement can be costly for operators as they may pay fines from the last date that they can prove accurate measurement. Meter verification tools make it simple and convenient to prove accuracy over time. Operators will be notified of problems at once to avoid misreporting and allowing for immediate corrective action.
The second example was for pressure relief valves (PRVs). PRVs are no longer isolated mechanical devices that rely on manual rounds as part of a preventive maintenance program. Release and leakage alerts from PRVs can be wirelessly monitored, and then integrated into reporting and analytical systems.
In the presentation, Measurement Technologies and Innovative Digital Solutions for Flare Management, Julie, Marcelo and Marcio team up to describe this solution. Knowing the effects of flare system activity is not the same as knowing the hidden causes coming from behind the headers.
Controlling the flare stack is not enough. Asset monitoring technologies give granular insight into ancillary equipment for better flare management operations. With this previously unavailable data and analysis, operators can make timely corrections or elimination of the root causes.
In the final presentation I’ll highlight, Marcio presented, Improving Safety with Wireless Monitoring of Safety Showers. Marcio shared ways on how digital transformation improves safety by wirelessly monitoring safety shower, eye-wash stations, H2S Remote Monitoring, Hydrocarbon Leak Detection and a breakthrough technology combining three Location Awareness application in one solution: Geofencing & Monitoring, Safety Mustering and Safety Alerts. This approach helps comply with OSHA without incurring complex installation and deployment costs. A personnel safety system integration using wireless technology is not only cost-effective, but also can provide instant alerts and quick and effective response time.
Follow the links above to learn more about these solutions and how they help with your HSE practices and reporting efforts. You can also learn more about solutions for refining and petrochemical solutions in the Downstream Hydrocarbons section on Emerson.com.
