Staying Informed and Updated on Your Plant’s Ammonia Safety Program

1. When was our last compliance audit?
2. Can you show me the closeout of recommendations from the last compliance audit?
3.  Can you provide me a copy of the most recent incident report and documentation that shows how we closed out recommendations/from the incident report?
4.  When was our last Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) conducted and can you show me documentation that closes out the recommendations from the last PHA?
5. How often do we certify our plant’s written operating procedures for the covered process?
6.   What training program do we have for our operators and what are the means used to verify they have understood the training?
7.   How often do we do refresher training?
8.       Based on our plant’s mechanical integrity program, what is the next piece of equipment scheduled for retirement and when is it scheduled to come out of service?
9.  What criteria do we use to evaluate contractors that work on our covered process?
10.  What was the last change made to our system and can you show me the documentation for that change?
What was the purpose of this audit program?
This program aimed to achieve a number of objectives including:
1.decreasing the risk (likelihood and consequence) of a significant incident which may lead to exposures to toxic gas
2. increasing compliance with regulatory requirements
3 improving engagement and collaboration with industry and workplaces involved
4 providing practical information and assistance to workplaces
Where to from here?
The program has revealed that there are opportunities for occupiers and industry-related groups to improve:
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ammonia-related hazards awareness, education and training
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risk control measures to prevent an incident
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demonstration of plant integrity via testing and maintenance by competent persons

risk control measures to mitigate the consequences of an incident
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emergency management arrangements and the testing of these arrangements
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dissemination of incident causes and resulting corrective actions

ongoing monitoring and reviewing of safety systems.