API 756 – What You Need to Know

Posted on by PC Resource

The American Petroleum Institute (API) released API Recommended Practice 756, the first edition of “Management of Hazards Associated with Location of Process Plant Tents,” that was finalized in September 2014.  There had been speculation that API was evaluating existing practices for tent siting evaluations, and this was confirmed when the API Process Safety Committee released a draft report at the end of 2013.

This recommended practice (RP 756) provides guidance for managing risk from explosions, fires, and toxic material releases to on-site personnel located in tents. The API Committee’s draft report evaluates recommended practices concerning five different types of tents utilized, including air-inflated structures. Air-inflated structures are considered to be the solution to minimize these risks and comply with API’s newly recommended practices.

Key Facts:

  • Provides guidance for managing risk from explosions, fires, and toxic material releases to on-site personnel located in tents.
  • “Tents” include a wide range of structures
  • Focused on process-related hazards
  • Tents included in the tent siting evaluation study include breaks or meals, weather shelters, change houses, orientation, training, meetings, tool stations, offices, laboratories, or equipment assembly, and more.
  • Applies to refineries, petrochemical and chemical operations, and other onshore facilities covered by OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119.

In addition to the safety considerations included in API 756, efficiency considerations are also top of the list for plant managers determining their best solution to comply with API’s recommended practices. Because air-inflatable structures allow for compliance with API 756, plant managers and industrial contractors are factoring in how to increase “Time on Tools,” or more wrench time, into their options to comply.

Don Francis, Material Planning and Logistics Lead at BP, stated, “Turnaround Logistics provided us shelters [Dynamic Air Shelters] and support that enabled us to work inside the blast zones during the 2013 FCC turnaround event. This brought personnel closer to the event, and minimized delays in travel time with each trip to the shelter.”

The full version of API RP 756 can be downloaded here.