Production Buildings and Warehouses | Safety Considerations for Plant Layout Levels
Exposure Protection
Spacing is the best protection against fire spread between buildings or structures and is recommended where site arrangements permit. Separation distances between Expanded Group A Plastics manufacturing areas and finished goods or bulk roll storage areas shall be a minimum of 30 m. Group A Plastics are Polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene. See NPFA 231 for a complete list.
Life Safety Provisions – Minimum requirements designed to provide safety from fire and similar emergency to provide safety from fire and similar emergencies and to permit prompt escape of occupants from a building.
Life Safety
Adequate provisions for life safety shall be arranged in accordance with NFPA 101. Specific requirements are as follows:
a. Production areas shall have exits as determined by NFPA 101, Chapter 28, Industrial Occupancies.
b. Warehouse areas for finished products shall have exits arranged in accordance with NFPA 101.
Chapter 29, Storage Occupancies.
c. Office areas located in separate buildings or separated by fire-rated walls or partitions from other occupancies, shall have exits arranged in accordance with NFPA 101, Chapter 26, New Business Occupancies.
d. Buildings without direct access to an outdoor area, or to another protected fire area, shall meet requirements for smoke and heat venting, automatic sprinkler protection, emergency lighting, fire alarm, and exit arrangements in accordance with NFPA 101, Chapter 30, Special Structures.
The building floor shall meet siting requirements as follows:
a. Floor level shall be 1270 mm above the level (grade) of the yard unless indicated otherwise in the Project Specifications.
b. Generally, depending upon the geographic location, the warehouse floor should be 1092 mm above the top of railroad tracks.
c. A 3.7 m wide ramp shall be provided from the warehouse floor to the yard level. Unless indicated otherwise in Project Specifications, the maximum slope shall be 1 in 8.
Minimum clear span of the warehouse shall be 15 m. Minimum spacing of structural frames or bents shall be 7.5 m, center to center, unless otherwise specified on drawings. Minimum clear dimension from the floor to the underside of the roof structure, or haunch, shall be 5.5 m. Maximum clear dimension shall be determined by the storage system specified. Certain products stored five units high will require a clear dimension of 7.5 m.
Construction and Waste Materials Areas
Space shall be provided for construction and maintenance activities. Laydown areas that are to include welding activities shall be located 100 m from process units. Laydown areas shall have access roads that will accommodate cranes, other lifting gear, and accommodate large plant equipment items that
may need to be transported.
Waste material areas shall be provided and separated from the process area by at least 15 m. Storage areas shall be limited to one or at most two, sides of the process.
For chemical waste storage, the site should be located such that the contour of the ground does not allow flammable liquid or heavy vapor to collect in a depression or to flow down to an area where it may find an ignition source. In addition, temporary hazardous waste storage areas shall have access restricted by fencing, provided with an impermeable chemical surface, and be located 100 m from process units. Section 17.1 provides requirements for paving of hydrocarbon spill area.