CRE Safety Regulations and Compliance 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes the purpose of a Management of Change (MOC) procedure in a PSM program?
- To document employee performance reviews after incidents
- To ensure safety and hazard reviews are conducted before changes to processes, equipment, or procedures (Correct answer)
- To track spare parts inventory for critical equipment
- To schedule preventive maintenance on process machinery
Correct answer: To ensure safety and hazard reviews are conducted before changes to processes, equipment, or procedures
MOC procedures ensure that any change to process chemistry, technology, equipment, or procedures is reviewed for safety implications before implementation.
Question 2: Under MIL-STD-882E, a mishap probability category of 'Occasional' is defined as likely to occur:
- Several times during the life of an item (Correct answer)
- Unlikely but possible during the life of an item
- So unlikely it can be assumed it will not occur
- Will occur frequently
Correct answer: Several times during the life of an item
MIL-STD-882E defines 'Occasional' (Category C) as likely to occur several times during the life of the system.
Question 3: A Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP) uses 'guide words' to systematically identify deviations. Which of the following is a standard HAZOP guide word?
- CRITICAL
- MORE OF (Correct answer)
- DANGER
- FAILURE
Correct answer: MORE OF
Standard HAZOP guide words include MORE OF, LESS OF, NO/NONE, REVERSE, OTHER THAN, AS WELL AS, and PART OF to identify deviations from design intent.
Question 4: The OSHA Lockout/Tagout standard (29 CFR 1910.147) requires that energy control procedures be reviewed at minimum:
- Monthly by a certified safety professional
- Annually by an authorized employee and a trained observer (Correct answer)
- Every 5 years or when equipment changes
- Only when an incident occurs involving the procedure
Correct answer: Annually by an authorized employee and a trained observer
1910.147 requires at least annual inspection of each energy control procedure by an authorized employee, performed in the presence of each authorized employee for that equipment.
Question 5: In functional safety per IEC 61511, what is a 'safety instrumented system' (SIS)?
- Any electronic control system that monitors production output
- An instrumented system used to bring a process to a safe state when predetermined conditions are violated (Correct answer)
- A data historian that records safety-related process variables
- A personal protective equipment tracking database
Correct answer: An instrumented system used to bring a process to a safe state when predetermined conditions are violated
A SIS is an instrumented system—including sensors, logic solvers, and final elements—designed to take a process to a safe state upon detection of a hazardous condition.
Question 6: Which regulatory body enforces the Process Safety Management standard (29 CFR 1910.119) in the United States?
- EPA
- OSHA (Correct answer)
- NFPA
- ANSI
Correct answer: OSHA
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) promulgates and enforces 29 CFR 1910.119, the PSM standard.
Question 7: A 'near-miss' event is most valuable to a reliability/safety program because it:
- Triggers mandatory regulatory reporting to OSHA within 24 hours
- Provides a leading indicator opportunity to correct hazards before an actual loss (Correct answer)
- Automatically raises the facility's insurance premiums
- Requires immediate shutdown of the affected process unit
Correct answer: Provides a leading indicator opportunity to correct hazards before an actual loss
Near-misses are leading indicators that reveal existing hazards and system weaknesses, allowing corrective action before a catastrophic event occurs.
CRE Safety Regulations and Compliance 3
Which of the following best describes the purpose of a Management of Change (MOC) procedure in a PSM program?