CTi is a Northern California based rep/engineering firm focused on providing integrated solutions for; valves, actuators, and controls. In addition we have expertise in the area of combustion & burner management controls and related components.
CTi maintains a California General Engineering Contractors License # 951993. Headquartered in San Ramon, CA, reach us at 925-208-4250 or CTi-CT.com
Learning From Catastrophe - Case Study of Heat Exchanger Failure
Shell and tube heat exchangers at industrial plant
Industrial accidents, whether minor or catastrophic, can serve as sources of learning when analyzed and studied. Operators, owners, and technicians involved with industrial chemical operations have a degree of moral, ethical, and legal responsibility to conduct work in a reasonably and predictably safe manner without endangering personnel, property, or the environment. Part of a diligent safety culture should include reviewing industrial accidents at other facilities. There is much to learn from these unfortunate events, even when they happen in an industry that may seem somewhat removed from our own.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board, or CSB, is an independent federal agency that investigates industrial chemical accidents. Below, find one of their video reenactments and analysis of an explosion that occurred at a Louisiana chemical processing plant in 2013. A portion of the reenactment shows how a few seemingly innocuous oversights can combine with other unrecognized conditions that result in a major conflagration.
Check out the video and sharpen your sense of awareness for potential trouble spots in your own operation.
