The Regional Association of Oil, Gas and Biofuels Sector Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARPEL) published the guide "Fire-Proof Systems in transportation and storage facilities", which was developed by the Fire - Proof Systems Project Team, working under the umbrella of the Pipelines and Terminals Committee.

The document was prepared in order to have a technical and educational reference, accredited by a group of experts from the region, for the administration, implementation, optimization and maintenance of fire - proof systems at hydrocarbon transportation onshore facilities, in compliance with technical standards and best industry practices, while considering economic aspects.

Based in the content of the guide, the team aims at developing checklists that will serve for a practical implementation and dynamic understanding of the guide at each operating unit willing to know the level of adhesion to the recommendations and standards provided by this guide, or to consider the necessary actions to achieve them, either at existing facilities or projects in previous stages.

This guide is the first and unique in Spanish that synthesizes standards, recommended practices and guidelines on fire-proof systems for the oil and gas industry, that involves a purely practical content. Training people is an effective mechanism and a necessary tool for sector companies striving for skills´ improvement of its workforce with a view to improving organizational performance. In this sense, in October 2016 ARPEL will hold the first meeting of Professionals and Specialists in Fire-Proof Systems, in order to put the guide into practice and train people in its implementation and best practices. The target audience of the meeting are those responsible for designing, maintaining and verifying the integrity of fire-proof equipment. The meeting will be held in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, hosted by YPFB Transporte S.A.

The implementation of this guide will result in an improvement of the operational reliability, a more appropriate response in relation to risk, an improved quality and organization, as well as in a contribution to the optimization of processes. The authors also highlight the importance of teamwork, noting that further implementation of the contents in installations in the sector will positively influence the process of continuous improvement of the document and its implementation.

ARPEL members can download the guide "Fire-proof systems in transportation and storage facilities" in https://arpel.org/library/publication/448/ (In Spanish, English version will be available soon)