GOVERMENT AND INSTITUTIONAL
Since its inception, acensium has provided superior support to the government and institutional sector as part of our portfolio of services. Our work is divided into four major groups:
» Government Services Provided by Acensium
» Healthcare and Institutional Technical Risk Services
» Industrial and Energy Technical Risk Services
» Technical Risk Solutions for Business
Industrial and Energy
Technical Risk Services
Survival and growth in a global economy is about making decisions that will keep your facilities producing and engaged in the marketplace. Just the ability to maintain the plant location and its valuable permits in proximity to distribution and customer population areas is a critical asset. No longer is quick-kill profit-taking through expend-and-waste policies seen as an answer to competing in the market. Existing plants are increasingly seen as the major assets and platforms for change and renovation they truly are. In the present economic uncertainty and regulatory environment, an established plant site is being viewed for continuing and sustained revision to increase output and efficiency.
acensium recognizes the importance of this trend and commitment to resource management and development. As a result, we help many industrial clients recognize their risk positions and take control of their technical risk futures. We are a full-service company, capable of delivering a cost-effective balance between innovative solutions and practical results. Our professionals bring extensive experience in the areas of:
- Aerospace
- Food Services
- Forest Products
- Pulp and Timber
- Mining and Metals Processing
- Petrochemical
- Pharmaceutical Research and Production
- Semiconductor
- Gas, Oil, Coal, Nuclear, Hydroelectric, and Renewable Energy Power Production
- Manufacturing
acensium provides a full line of industrial safety and fire protection services, ranging from fire system design to process hazards analysis with training and program development in between.
Profiles of Our Service
The following are brief descriptions of projects and solutions acensium has already provided to its customers:
Moving Equipment and Nip Point Challenges on Paper Machines
Challenge:
The safety manager of a paper board manufacturing plant was issued the mandate to identify high hazard operations and determine procedural and physical changes needed to protect workers from injuries in and around paper machine lines. Due to the limited staff and on-going construction and production activities, which required fulltime attention, the safety organization could not dedicate resources to this new major task.
Solution:
acensium was requested to develop and conduct high risk task safety analysis of over sixty paper machine activities. During this time, personnel and supervisors were interviewed and discreet task steps defined. At the same time the actual equipment was reviewed in operation and through available technical drawings and manufacturer’s manuals. After completion of the field work, a report was developed for each task that defined the purpose of the task, personnel and qualifications involved, identified potential hazards, and established a safe work step and precautionary procedure.
Additional recommendations were made for changes in training, precautions, and physical features such as barriers, guards, and limit controls to further reduce risks. At the end of the assessment process, common deficiencies were characterized along with proposed corrective action. These were prioritized and the relative risks involved with each of the subject tasks ranks according to factors such as frequency, severity, and potential for multiple injury conditions. The plant then was able to develop a short range corrective action plan that involved the workers involved with each task and a long-term physical protection program, based upon the risk rankings involved. acensium personnel also provided timely training and process hazards analysis support for other areas of the plant as needs.
Fire Brigade Receives Practical Training in Response to Fire in coal Storage
Challenge:
An industrial fire brigade had recently been certified by the State for interior fire fighting activities and obtained both tactical fire fighting gear and equipment. However, specific training in the hazards of responding to coal fires was not part of the State-sponsored academy curriculum.
Solution:
acensium prepared a two day training program focused upon the hazards and tactical planning required for fires in coal piles and silos. Full color student and instructor’s manuals were prepared for the class. The first day was dedicated to classroom education and workshop activities surrounding hazard recognition and pre-fire planning. Tactical procedures and incident command structure were reviewed in details for these types of challenges. The second day provided a combination of live drill scenarios evolving from a simulated coal pile fire at an unloading trestle and team break-out sessions using specialized infrared thermography and deep penetrating lance fire suppression equipment. Throughout the session acensium personnel provided both Observers and controllers for safety and to provide critique information. At the end of the session, a critique of filed performance was provided along with a recommended continuing action plan. Classroom evaluations and a photo-narrative summary of the exercise were presented to the fire brigade as a record and future reference to the plant bridge trainers.
High Density Bag Filter Array Challenges Conventional Dust Collector Fire Protection
Challenge:
Cylindrical dust collectors offer an advantage to conventional box-type arrays in that additional bag filters can be arranged within the same footprint and volume to increase filtration capacity. However, with filters bags spaced at 2 inches and less apart, convention sprinkler or waterspray nozzles cannot effectively reach from top to bottom of the baghouse interior without serious obstruction of the spray pattern by the vertically mounted bags.
Solution:
acensium reviewed alternative fire protection strategies and confirmed that conventional sprinkler and waterspray systems were ineffective for this application with a major property insurance carrier and independent testing laboratory. Gaseous suppression systems posed an even greater risk with the potential of pushing a fire to the point of deflagrations. Careful research revealed that watermist protection could provide penetrating fire suppression, while at the same time preventing dust disturbance that could flare into a deflagration. This same system had the advantage that it could be mounted above and below the bags without interruption of the filtered air flow or interference with the bags themselves. While such a system had never been tried in a dust collection application in the Untied States before, acensium presented a technical design basis using analogous successful fire challenges for which watermist had received approval. Working closely with the engineering manager of the watermist manufacturer, a design was presented to the client’s insurance broker that was determined to be acceptable. acensium’s experience and association with insurance firms, code and approval bodies, and established design reputation with fire protection manufacturers made possible this innovative and timely solution for a vital dust mitigation retro-fit project.
How can we help you meet your technical risk objectives?
