Industrial Engineering & Management

Minimizing Safety Equipment Cost in Manufacturing Systems Using Transportation Simplex Method

Abstract

Emad Rabiei Hosseinabad

This paper takes a deep look at the costs related to process safety. It is not confined to the costs of trips and alarms,
compliance with regulations and worker training, but also takes into consideration many aspects considered standard
process design practice. Factors that affect the cost due to the hazardous nature of operation have been listed. While
the exact cost would vary from one plant to another, this cost could, according to our thinking, amount up to one-third
to one-half, or even more, of the capital and operating costs of the new plant handling the hazardous operations. The
vision of the process industry globally is zero hazards and zero accidents. The costs of running the hazardous process
mentioned in this paper would hopefully drive the industry to consider inherently safer systems, green chemistry, process
intensification, and the like.