The Role of Process Safety Management in the Chemical Engineering Undergrad Curriculum

This paper will discuss the role of Process Safety Management education in the Chemical Engineering Curriculum.It is recognized that the core body of knowledge for a Chemical Engineer continues to grow, and there never seems to be enough time to adequately cover it all, one has to consider which issues are more important than others.Basic fundamentals such as the sciences and math are considered essential but there is always a question about some of the peripheral subjects such as Process Safety Management.With the notorious incidents such as Bhopal, Flixborough, and Piper Alpha and the current interest in green engineering this should be a topical issue in Engineering Education.The general public has become much more sensitized to the issue of process safety as have law makers.Although not all our graduates will end up in a process environment, this whole issue is something that we believe to be an essential subject for a Chemical Engineering education.Process Safety Management begins at the design phase and is a critical aspect of operating and maintenance procedures.Many of the large international hydrocarbon processing industries have very extensive on-going safety training for all their employees, both professionals as well as operating personnel.There is always the concern of a new graduate being employed by a small organization where he or she might assume a role of operations management in short order, when a serious mishap occurs.Should it be shown that the accident was the result of inadequate safety procedures this could result in an individual being charged with criminal negligence.Engineering educators face a challenge of a rapidly changing field of professional practice and an enormous change in the connectivity of our students today.How we can cope with this and effectively deliver vital knowledge about Process Safety Management is an important and topical issue.