There have been a number of incidents that have highlighted the potentially high risks that personnel located within occupied buildings may be exposed to. In this presentation, Elio Stocco (Director and Principal Risk Consultant) reviews several of these incidents and discusses strategies to manage the risk to personnel working within occupied buildings.

Primary guidance material that has been adopted to limit the risks associated with occupied building incidents are the API standards. Within these standards, various methodologies are described that can assist operators to safely manage occupied buildings located in and around process plants. This includes methods to address the different types of hazards, including explosion overpressure, thermal radiation and toxic or flammable vapours.

The assessment method describes three approaches (consequence, risk based and spacing tables). Elio describes the application and limitations of the consequence-based approach in the placement of portable buildings in cases where space is not restricted. He also discusses the application of the risk-based approach to address legacy issues of existing buildings within process plant areas.

To read more, download the presentation slides here.
Click this link for more information on Occupied Building Risk Assessments.