Aug 10 (edited) • General discussion
🛑 Bypassing Safety Devices. Why It’s Never “Just for a Minute”
If you’ve ever worked in a plant, you know there are moments where someone says:
“Let’s just bypass this to get through the job, it’ll be fine.”
But here’s the thing… regulations, design intent, and real-world incidents all say otherwise.
What ABSA and PESR Say
In Alberta, ABSA’s AB-528 User Guide makes it crystal clear:
“Safety control functions shall be installed in such a way as to prevent a bypass.”
The Pressure Equipment Safety Regulation (PESR) goes further in Section 39, requiring that relief and overpressure protection systems remain sealed after maintenance, and that any change requires Safety Codes Officer approval.
This isn’t just bureaucratic red tape, it’s about preserving Independent Protection Layers (IPLs), which are often the only barriers between a process upset and a serious incident.
What Counts as a Safety Control?
According to ABSA, safety controls include instrumented and non-instrumented functions, like:
- Shutdown & blowdown valves
- Level, pressure, flow, or temperature safety trips
- Burner management systems
- Fire & gas detectors
- Pressure safety valves, rupture disks, overspeed trips
- HVAC pressurization in control rooms (Full list in ABSA Appendix A.)
Bypassing any of these removes a critical safeguard.
Global Industry Parallels
In U.S. offshore operations, regulators (BSEE) allow temporary bypass only with strict controls:
- Visual indication of the bypass
- Continuous monitoring
- Written, time-bound approvals
Even then, it’s treated as an exception, not a shortcut.
The Real Question for Operators
We’ve all seen it done, but the real measure of safety culture is how we manage it:
✅ Do you have a formal bypass permit process?
✅ Are bypasses tracked, tagged, and alarmed?
✅ Is there a clear plan for restoration, and is it verified?
✅ Do you know which alarms or trips are absolute “never bypass” territory?
💬 Your Turn
- Have you been part of a bypass management or rationalization process?
- What worked, what didn’t, and what would you never skip?
- How do you train new operators on the seriousness of bypassing safeguards?
This isn’t about pointing fingers, it’s about sharing real-world practices that protect people, plants, and the public.
#PowerEngineering101 #ABSA #PESR #ProcessSafety #BypassManagement #OperatorWisdom #ControlRoomOperations #IndependentProtectionLayers #Commissioning
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🛑 Bypassing Safety Devices. Why It’s Never “Just for a Minute”
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