Compression System Safety

How important are periodic inspections and checks of industrial plants? The answer is rather obvious: extremely important. Yet we continue to witness a series of serious accidents involving industries—plants—and industrial buildings in general. But how is this possible? In our country, there are many laws and various documents concerning the safety of plants and pressure equipment, but these are not always subject to the necessary checks. Periodic inspections are not optional, and despite everything, the issue of ‘safety and control’ is often taken lightly by the inspectors themselves. The situation becomes even more serious when considering pressure equipment and systems, which, by their very nature, are more prone to accidents. So what can be done? How can we act promptly to avert the danger of accidents, which in some cases can be serious, if not dramatic? First of all, the first piece of advice is – perhaps it may seem obvious, but it should be considered a real ‘golden rule’ in terms of safety – to scrupulously comply with the regulations and laws in force (those who wrote them are experts in the field and in the systems and therefore know the timing and methods of inspection for this type of system…). The second piece of advice (which is also not obvious and, in fact, rather important to follow) is to demand the highest level of safety from your supplier. Yes, because while it is true that regulations must be applied, we often see a sort of ‘wild west’ approach to circumventing these rules, which comes from suppliers who, in order to save the buyer a few dollars, sell non-compliant machinery or perhaps turn a blind eye to the laws in force. This type of supplier is completely unethical, because they charge for a service that will cause serious problems in the long run (read ‘ASL or INAIL have taken action to close down non-compliant plants’…). Always demand the best for your systems and, above all, always remember that if the system is not compliant, even the insurance company will not assume responsibility for paying in the event of an accident. Is it really worth it?